Kingdom Hearts III: Unwanted Rebirth
by Angel-Hunteress
Summary: Sarah wants a normal life: friends, and a great rep of best swordsman in Traverse Town. But when a mysterious man in a black robe shows up, knowing all her secrets, she gets the Keyblade, her life becomes shrouded in a cloud of conspiracy. [SxK][RxOC]
1. Screw Your Epic Battle

**Kingdom Hearts III: Unwanted Rebirth** – by the Angel Huntress

A/N: This was originally posted as Kingdom Hearts II: Strange Mix about half a year ago, and I just lost control over the events, and then beat KH2 and CoM. So, that's the story. Got it memorized?

_Genre_: Drama/Romance/Action & Adventure/ Mystery

_Rating_: T

_Chapter 1 Warnings_: Nothing much, except for some violence, and my really bad humor.

_Crossover: _Well, it's Kingdom Hearts, I think that pretty much explains it, although there may be some non-Disney Xovers, like a certain Fox show that I am getting an _unhealthy_ obsession for, so that kinda…yeah. Anyway, back to the show.

_Ship:_ OC?xOCxOC? triangle, SxK for later chapters,

_Setting: _Four years after KH2 because I believe that KH2 takes place directly after KH1, but I'm not sure cause Haley Joel Osmond's voice changed.

_Spoilers:_ Most of the Secret Ansem Reports in KH2, so some minor to major KH2 spoilers.

_Disclaimer_: Though Kingdom Hearts, Disney are not mine, as well as a few other shows and stuff that I do know own, I do own my plot, and my characters, and my design of the Keyblade, which is this at http/ so either click this or just copy and paste it in the top thingy.

_Chapter 1 Summary:_ Sarah Hunter had a normal life, right? Friends, family, and a great reputation as the best swordsperson in Traverse Town. But when a mysterious man in a hooded black robe appears, knowing her somehow, and then monsters appear, her life gets thrown off balance and her destiny becomes shrouded in a cloud of conspiracies…

* * *

**Chapter 1: Screw Your Epic Battle**

It was a clear and starry night as Sarah Hunter lay on her back on the street. She'd never seen such a beautiful night like this one in Traverse Town. The stars gleamed with a sheer magnificent glow, and one even seemed to disappear. Sarah blinked. Huh? Disappeared?

A good-looking platinum-blond teen charged at her with a samurai sword raised in his hand, Sarah rolled over quickly, grabbing her own sword in the process, and sprang up, parrying and countering every move he threw at her, throwing in a few ferocious attacks herself.

Her last combo was one that could bring an enemy literally crumbling to its knees if successful, but when the adrenaline got running, well, so did slowness. The blow required her to charge past the opponent, bringing a horrendous painful blow to the stomach, but if one were to go a little slow on that blow, the opponent could easily avoid the blow by sidestepping, leaving the other completely open.

Which was exactly what had happened. She ran past him, felt her sword hit air after she slowed down for that fraction of a second, and stopped when the momentum had died down. Her opponent whacked her in the back of the knee with the side of his blade, causing blinding pain and momentary paralysis in her entire left leg. He knocked the sword far out of her hand with his blade. She was on one knee, utterly helpless. And the boy was closing in on her, bringing his samurai sword up in a Kill Bill stance, preparing for the final blow.

He raised his sword high in the air, and brought it down to her head, the sword whistling in the air. Sarah had put her head down. And it whistled for a long time.

It never came. She looked up, at the boy, and saw that his sword was frozen, literally, as was he, his angry blue eyes frozen in a killer expression. She also noticed that the pain in her leg had receded, which Sarah thought weird, because a technique like the one he had pulled could paralyze someone an hour if the fighter was experienced enough. And this fighter was definitely experienced.

She got up, shakily, and walked to the boy. Puzzled at what was happening, she picked up her sword and looked around. Everything looked the same, but then again, there was no one in sight anymore. Although the town lights did look a little dimmer…but the mind can play tricks.

Curious, she reached out to touch the boy's shoulder as if to make sure this was really happening. But before she did, a noise startled her. Or, not a noise, but rather, a feeling. Like all her senses had been touched at once. A presence. She quickly turned around.

"Who's there?" she called. Silence was the only response.

"Are you ready, Sarah?" called a voice that sent a shiver down her spine. It seemed oddly familiar, but at the same time totally foreign. It was coming from her right, near where the old Accessory shop was, where the Moogle Synthesis Shop was now.

A man (or at least she assumed it was a man because of his stature) shrouded in a hooded black robe was leaning with one leg propped up against the wall of a building at the opposite side of where the two were fighting. He had black gloves, black everything. For some reason, Sarah wondered if he even had a face, or whether his face was just darkness.

Looking at this man sent a shiver down her spine, and also her head started to feel lightheaded. This man was bad, she figured, but to what extent? And he definitely wasn't frozen like the other boy. He must have great power if he caused this, she noted.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Nobody of any importance. But you, Sarah, are nobody of great importance. You hold the key to binding the darkness and the light together, to fight the epic battle that will basically end all battles. Got it memorized?"

Sarah stared at him in wonder for a second, because she knew someone who used that expression a lot. Whatever happened to…to… She literally shook the nonsense thoughts from her mind, and gripped her sword even tighter.

"You can screw your epic battle!" she shouted.

"Yes, you always did have a way with words, Sarah," he replied, almost wistfully.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she said.

He let out a short 'that's-for-me-to-know-and-for-you-to-find-out' laugh. He almost ignored her, though, if not for that laugh because he continued in the same tone. "Fine. Have it your way. If that's the way you wanna play it…You'll be ready sometime. And when you do…"

He got up from his place and walked past her, heading down the steps toward the huge doors that led to the Third District. He stopped.

"I'll be back, Sarah. Oh, and by the way? Sorry about your stomach," he said, and snapped his fingers.

Sarah's head was in terrible pain, and it felt like the ground collapsed beneath her. Her stomach? What was wrong with her stomach?

The next thing she knew, she was kneeling on the ground again, her leg in pain, the headache receding. She couldn't get up. Was her leg paralyzed again? The boy in front of her gave her the finishing blow, smacking his blade sideways into her stomach. It was like doing a belly flop into a 2 foot deep pool from 30 feet high up. (A/N: Don't try that, please)

She grimaced and clenched her jaw in pain, falling back, her knuckles white from holding her sword so tight.

The boy grinned a lopsided goofy grin that only he could pull off, and extended a hand to her. "Better luck next time, Sarah."

She took his hand, a sign of a good sport, and he helped her up. "Luck has nothing to do with it, Ian," she said, returning the grin. "I see I've taught you well. You might even get to be a Boss." Helping her walk (or rather limp) to the bench on the sidelines while Sarah's father and her team's trainer, Ash called up to more people from Sarah's team, a red-headed seventeen-year-old mage, Thea, who was Sarah's best friend as well, and Ian's best friend, a seventeen-year old gunblade-wielding kid named Squall, who was Leon's cousin from that Hollow Bastion place Sarah had heard about.

Ian led her to the bench, Sarah sitting on the chair part as Ian sat on the table part next to her, feet resting on the chair part. Sarah sat back, casting a mild Cure spell on herself, her skin giving off a white aura.

Ian looked at her. Sarah never cast Cure unless she was in a lot of pain. Her saw her knuckles were all white, but didn't say anything.

A pause fell over them. Not an uncomfortable one, but just in silence. They watched the fight. Thea, who was a powerful blk and wht mage, blocked her opponent's attack with her staff, cast Aero on herself to send him flying back, and countered with a fire spell, her long fiery red hair glowing even more red. Squall looked a lot like Leon, except for the fact that Squall had shorter hair than Leon by about four inches, and was a head shorter than Leon as well. He had the same cool attitude, and even got to inherit Leon's old gunblade. He looked (and acted) a bit older for his age (he was eighteen) and some people even mistake him for Leon.

Ian leaned forward. He gave a sort of half-smile, but one with no humor.

"Sorry," he said, watching as Sarah was subconsciously rubbing the back of her leg. She stopped, looking at him. "Guess I went overboard on that."

"Hey, it's better this than you going easy on me and come time for a real battle, you don't hit hard enough. 'Fight any battle like a real one.' Besides, it doesn't hurt _that _much."

He looked at her like she was crazy. They sat in another silence, watching the fight. Ian was Sarah's best guy friend, ever since he came to Traverse Town when he was seven. He, Thea and Sarah were like the Golden Trio, the original fighters of Traverse Town. They had been the first fighters of Traverse Town, local detectives, and the first to have trained with Ash, until Leon and everyone from Hollow Bastion arrived about five years ago, including Squall and two others from Sarah's team.

Sarah sat back, taking her eyes off the battle and looking up at the sky. "Ian? What was your world like?"

Ian leaned forward again, in thought. "I don't really remember much."

"Well, what do you remember?" she asked.

"I remember…rain. Little droplets of water falling from the sky. I lived on a beach, and when the sun would rise, the rain would sparkle and reflect the light from the sun and shine in all sorts of colors in the sea. It would rain a lot in my mother's garden. A garden is like a cluster of plants pf all kinds, some flowers that would bloom and die, and some other plants that you could eat. It was nice there. That was before…"

He didn't need to elaborate; Sarah knew. His world had been destroyed by Heartless, and he winded up here, his mother and little sister killed by Heartless. Sarah really never understood anything about the Heartless, really; she always figured they were people who wore masks and liked to destroy worlds as a hobby, wallowing in the darkness.

She wanted to change the subject of his past, yet still dive into it. "So. Tell me more about the rain. It sounds beautiful."

"Oh, Goddess, are you kidding?" he said incredulously. "It rained so much there. Everything got soaked and ruined, and the weeds would grow like crazy, and it'd take forever to mow the grass. And big sounds, louder than fireworks, would cause flashes of lightning, which is a Thunder spell but like ten times worse would hit the ground, and could kill someone. You wouldn't like it."

He was half-joking, Sarah knew. She smiled.

"You ever wonder if it rains on other worlds?" she asked, looking up.

"Other worlds?" Ian asked. She never talked about other worlds.

"Yeah. I wonder if they have rain or if they have gardens I wonder if the rain sparkles there. Hmph. I wonder what people look like on other worlds. Are they even human or moogle, or something else?"

"I can't answer ya there. Hey, hey! Like ten hours later, man!" Ian said to the two approaching people. The scent of smoke invaded Sarah's nostrils. She turned her head and smiled.

"Hey, guys. I see you've finally closed up shop," Sarah said. Seth and Astra were brother and sister, about a year and a half apart, and ran the Accessory Shop.

Astra was a pretty brunette (or at least Ian thought she was stunning) who was also the smoker and a part of Sarah's team. She came to Traverse Town about six years ago from Hollow Bastion. She was a great fighter, a swordswomen, who never gave up a fight until she won. She could go on for hours and not break a sweat (which puzzled Sarah to no end because Astra could smoke half a pack a day).

Seth was also a part of Sarah's team; he was the gunner and got them special discounts on accessories. He had inherited the Accessory Shop from Cid when he was thirteen because Cid was like a father to the two, though they had only first met shortly before they came from Hollow Bastion. The Accessory Shop had moved magically (thanks to Thea, actually) to the Second District so it could be expanded and because the attic above the Accessory Shop had gotten too small for the Moogle's Synthesis Workshop, so they had to walk a distance to get to training and were usually late.

The battle was over, and Thea won. Squall had his hands literally frozen to the gunblade due to Thea's powerful Blizzara spells, and Thea was working a Cure spell on him. After she was done, they walked over to the table, and Thea ran up to Seth and hugged him.

"Seth!" Thea exclaimed. "Oh, my Goddess! I didn't think I'd see you till next week!" She let him go, looking at him. "Hey, did you order in my staff?"

"You know I did. Masoi said he'd have it in half a year—pretty good, really. You're name is at the top of the list." Seth had great connections, and he would do anything for Thea. He treated her like a princess and she was too stupid to realize it. They had had a thing for each other since they first met—almost literally too—and were just blind, oblivious.

"Hey, strawberry shortcake," Astra said casually, taking another puff on the cig.

Thea placed her fingertip on the end of Astra's cig and ice appeared on it, extinguishing it.

"Hey!" Astra yelled, agitated.

"I _told_ you!" Thea scolded. "Not only is smoking bad for your lungs, but second-hand smoke is worse for the people around you! We could all get lung cancer in a matter of years! And then what? No more battles!"

"Oh, screw your lung cancer," Astra muttered, and to add emphasis, she threw down the cig hard and stomped on it, even though it was already out, but Sarah noticed that Astra had put the pack away. She looked up at Sarah. "So we up or what?"

"Ash said he got tired of waiting for you guys," Sarah said.

"Figures," Astra said, and then looked around. "Where is the old man, anyway?"

"I'm not _that_ old," replied a man coming from their side, from the Moogle Shop.

Ash, a man in about his mid-thirties, had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, full of weapons and items. He was a tall man, with the same dark brown colored hair as Sarah but different colored eyes. Ash had brown eyes, and Sarah had bright blue eyes. Something about recessive genes, or something like that. He had a scar across his right eye, one which Sarah knew nothing about other than the fact that it must've hurt bad.

"Ash," Sarah said. It was a custom to the people who actually grew up in Traverse Town to call their parents by their first name. "You have an eighteen-year-old kid. You talk about 'when I was your age…' Face it, you're an old man."

Ash let out a chuckle. "I don't recall you ever being my age, kid."

She sat back on the table, looking up at the stars. "So, on to the restaurant then?"

"Have you forgotten?" asked Ash. "_You've_ got school tomorrow."

Sarah groaned. How teenager of her. She sat up. "What?" she said incredulously. "No way! Give me another day or two. Everyone else is going back on Friday!"

"Well, most people can get the Materia in a day." Ash said, cracking a smile.

Ian grinned. Sarah looked from Ash to Ian and then back to Ash, and then put on that 'teenage girl Oh, my god!' face. "You calling me slow?" Ian laughed Sarah socked him in the arm, playfully. But her playful punches could hurt, and Ian stopped laughing, causing her to grin triumphantly at him.

She looked up at Ash. "Pleeeeeease?" she whined like a five-year-old.

"Well, perhaps I _could_ give you until Friday and put behind a month. Your call," he joked. Sarah swatted him—much more lightly than when she hit Ian—and grinned.

"So, on to the restaurant, then?" she asked.

He nodded, and as everyone got up, he took the duffel bag off his shoulder and gave it to Sarah.

"Oh, come on!" she whined. The duffel bag weighed twice as much as she did, literally. She shot him a 'rebellious-teenage-daughter' look, rolled her eyes, and took the duffel bag. She picked it up, though, and followed him to the restaurant.

That was when the screaming started to happen. An older man, about ten years older than Ash, at least, by the name of Irvam was running from the door that led directly from the First District to the Third District. Irvam was running, with a…monster? following.

It was the shape and height of a person, but the similarities stopped there. Instead of hands, it had sword-like arms, and was inhumanly skinny, and could move through the air as if it were gliding. It was wearing (unless it was its _skin_) a silver hooded jumpsuit, and had a weird symbol on its hood (or head) which looked like an upside down double-sided axe with a cross for a handle.

Ash shot a look to Sarah—one she recognized immediately, and she quickly got out Ash's katana. Ash ran to Irvam, pulled the thing off of him, and sliced at the thing, killing it, the thing disappearing into a dark aura.

Ash guided Irvam by the shoulder to Sarah and the gang, who were staring, bewildered at the space where the thing once was. Ash turned and faced the door, the katana slung behind his shoulder.

"Stay back and get to the Hotel," Ash said without looking back. "Take as many people with you as you can. Do _not _attempt to fight these things; your weapons will do no harm to them."

Sarah didn't argue with him; she desperately wanted to fight alongside him, but she also had to protect Irvam. He was a kind and generous man and definitely not the fighting type. He'd be as good as dead in the field.

Ash ran through the doors to the Third District, and she heard a sound as if a door was being locked. The door Ash ran through. Sarah and her team took Irvam to the Alleyway to cut to the Hotel.

When they entered the Alleyway, more of the things appeared out of orbs of darkness. Just appeared. A young woman of about twenty ran from the Second District as Sarah unlocked the back door to the Hotel. Dania, the woman, was on one side of the Alleyway running, and the creatures were on the other side, and more were following Dania.

The things that were closer to her were coming faster. As Sarah and Thea ushered everyone in, Thea turned to the thing.

"Aero!" she shouted, pointing her staff at the things for more force. But the spell had no effect. She panicked. "Um…fire! Lightning! Uh…uh—"

"Thea, forget it! Just get in. Dania! Hurry!" she shouted to her friend. Dania was gaining speed, but so were the things. They were little more than five feet from Dania, and Dania was little more than ten feet from the door.

Dania did pick up speed, though, and finally made it through the door. Sarah hurried after her and closed the door, only to hear (and feel) something pound against the door. Another pound. Another. And then…nothing.

Sarah's heart was beating rapidly, adrenaline coursing through her veins. They were in the Blue Room, her room. At least she was in a familiar place.

Everyone lived in the Hotel; it wasn't just for people who couldn't afford a house anymore. When the major influx of people occurred about four years ago, and not only more houses were needed, but shops and businesses were needed for people to make a living to live in those houses, the Mayor of Traverse Town raised money for the refugees and built an extension to the Hotel, running it through to the old Gizmo Shop, and even turned the Gizmo Shop into an extension. Houses were turned into buildings and offices, and Traverse Town thrived once more.

And the Hotel was safe. Sarah was sure of it. The things hadn't appeared in here. She figured the Hotel had some kind of ward against darkness or…something. And Ash knew about it, or else he wouldn't have sent them here.

Ash.

The sudden urge that a five-year-old child lost in a store without his mother came to her. That longing for a parental figure in a dark time. And she knew without a doubt Ash was in trouble. She needed him, or else what could she do? She never fought a battle without him. Never.

She looked around the room. Ian and Astra were covering the door that went from the Blue Room to the Green Room (or Ian's room), Squall and Thea were covering the door that led to the Red Room (or Ash's room), and Seth and Dania were covering the front exit, the one that led to the Lobby.

Irvam was sitting on a chair, his hands in his face. He was a refugee from five years ago. The Heartless had swallowed his world, and he lost everything. His wife, his children, his grandchild. She didn't blame him for losing it.

Everyone in this room had lost someone close to the Heartless, Sarah realized. Seth and Astra lost their mother and father, Squall, his family, his friends, his memory, Ian, his mother and little sister, and Thea…well, just about everyone.

_No, not everyone,_ Sarah thought. _Everyone in this room has lost someone close to the Heartless. Except for me. And I plan to keep it that way._

She went to the duffel bag and took out her sword. The one that Ash himself had carved for her.

"What are you _doing_?" Squall asked, his voice a little uneven.

"What do you think? I have to go help my dad. Come if you want, but I want at least two of you to stay behind. Thea, and someone else."

"But," started Thea. She knew Sarah was unstable right now, ready to snap at anyone or anything. "Didn't Ash say that our weapons won't work?"

"I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Sarah shouted. "I have…no idea if I can hurt them, but at the least I can be a diversion if Ash needs it. Do not open this door for anything. Even me. Kill anything that enters. Got it?"

She hurried out the door, locking the door behind her. She ran to the Second District, hurried down the stairs to the big open space, and prayed to the gods that she wasn't going to get…ambushed.

The things surrounded her, in a circle, and started to sway, as if dancing. She swallowed, nervous. She raced at the one in front of her, the one blocking the way, and brought her blade to the thing's stomach—but nothing happened. The sword just went right through it.

The thing jabbed an "arm" into _her_ stomach, and Sarah was knocked back into the middle of the circle, falling on her butt hard. The wound wasn't that bad; it was more of a force blow than a pain blow. They were having fun with her, torturing her.

"Come on, Sarah, focus!" shouted a male voice. Sarah looked around, but no one was there. _And why hasn't anyone come out yet? Like Ian would miss the fun—_

The thing raised an "arm" to attack her, but Sarah raised her left arm—the one with her sword—to block it, although she knew it wouldn't do her any good—but something did happen.

Her sword began to glow, and the thing's "arm" was blocked. The white light around her sword started to fade, revealing not her sword, but a new one. One that looked awesome, with a black and red jagged-striped handle, and a blade that looked like a huge…key? The backing of the handle had what looked like scales, and the top of the blade had spikes on it.

She used her strength to throw the thing off of her with her new sword, and the thing went flying. She hacked at the air around the things, and saw them flinch. She smiled. It was payback time. She swung her sword at the thing that was closest to her, and like Ash, she killed it in one hit. It disappeared into a dark aura. She killed the rest of them, and felt like she could go against a thousand of those things without breaking a sweat.

She heard someone clapping behind her, as if applauding. She turned around, and saw the hooded man in the black robe. And suddenly everything clicked in. Like why no one from her team showed up yet.

"Gimme a break," she muttered.

"Yeah, go Sarah, the Keyblade Master. I knew you had it in you," he said, coming toward her.

"You." Funny how a three letter word could just about sum everything up. She got into her fighting stance.

"Come on. I have a name ya know," he removed his hood to reveal bright red hair, a kid who wasn't that much older than her. A good-looking one at that.

"Why is it every time I want to have a civilized conversation with you, you try to attack me? Now, come on. I haven't tried to hurt you, yet." Another chill went down her spine.

"Yeah, right. Like you weren't the one who siced those things on us," she said.

"Hmph," he said, in a way that she knew she was right. "I wanted to prepare you. See if you were ready. And you did manage to kill some Nobodies. But it could just be the adrenaline rush."

"Save the monologue for someone who cares!" she said, knowing this was stupid of her. If he could freeze time, which she knew he could now without a doubt, than he could probably kill her, manipulate time.

"Ouch. Fine. If that the way you wanna play it," he said, and what looked like two wheels made out of flames appeared in his hands.

She charged at him, but he disappeared, shimmering into thin air. She looked all around her, but he wasn't anywhere to be found. She saw him appear on the opposite side of the park, the place by the fountain. He was crouched, the flames gone from the wheels. He looked hurt, but she couldn't be sure.

She rushed at him, Keyblade in her hand. She swung her Keyblade at him, but it went right through him, and he disappeared. She felt someone tap her on the shoulder, and she turned around to face him again, ready to swing the wheel at her, one with flames. She blocked his blow, even though it hurt from the heat from the fire.

"Freeze!" she shouted at him, and out of her Keyblade came a huge ice ball. She wasn't as good as Thea when it came to this stuff, but she knew that this Blizzard spell was an upgrade, that somehow the Keyblade could make her spells more powerful.

But the spell had no effect on him. He smiled a cruel smile before taking the wheels of fire and throwing them at her like missiles. She turned and ran toward the old Gizmo shop, not wanting to take a chance with the Keyblade. She ran until she came to the wall, quickly casting an Aero spell to propel her up the side of the building and do a flip off the wall to make the wheels crash into the wall. That was the plan, however, but the Aero spell didn't work. The Keyblade gave a sort of cough when she called out for wind, and she didn't move up, running into the wall.

She shielded herself to try and block her from the wheels, but they never came. She looked up, and saw him standing in front of her. She looked up at him, feeling small and scared because she knew she was a lot weaker. She could feel her pulse beating faster.

"Come on, Sarah. And to think I was pulling for you in this round," he said casually. He reminded her of Ian, the way he talked to her, as if they knew each other since they were kids.

"Who…are you?" she asked, her voice even. She wasn't scared of him anymore, because she felt like he was someone she had known. His face was so familiar… Her heartbeat was going crazy.

"A friend," was all he said, looking at his gloves.

She laughed, feeling a lot more like herself, comfortable. "Like I don't have enough already."

He smiled that cruel smile, the one which sent shivers down her spine. "I didn't say I was yours," he said, and turned and disappeared into the darkness.

Her heart was beating so fast she thought she would pass out. But the Second District was clear. No more Nobodies around. She headed toward the path that led to the Third District when she heard the sound of a door opening behind her. She turned, and saw her friends. More Nobodies showed up, and they tried fighting, but nothing happened, as she expected.

Sarah ran back, killed the Nobodies, and stood there, Keyblade glistening in the light.

"Jeez, what took you guys so long?" Sarah asked. "Thought I'd be the only one having fun out there."

They stared at the Keyblade, Seth wide-eyed, Ian with his mouth practically open. Astra, Squall and Thea must've been in the Hotel still.

"N-new weapon ya got there, Sarah?" asked Seth.

She twirled the Keyblade in her hand, and rested it on her shoulder. "Yeah. Ain't it great?"

The Keyblade vibrated, and a silver light shot out of the top, straight into Seth and Ian's weapons.

"I think you guys are in the clear for killing the things," she said. "Listen, I know he's in the Third District, but these things are all over. Can one of you cover the First District and other this District?"

"N-no problem," Ian said, still looking at the Keyblade. "Just be careful, okay, Sarah?"

Sarah smiled. It was always like Ian to worry about her. "Yeah, you know I'll be. Okay, now I've gotta get going!"

She turned around, watched as Seth headed toward the First District, and Ian walked around a bit, swinging his sword. Then she turned back, heading for the Third District to rescue her father.

* * *

The Third District was crawling with Nobodies. And not just Nobodies. The Nobodies were fighting other creatures, little black things that looked like huge ants. Maybe they were good? 

It was literally crawling with them. Sarah couldn't even see the surface of anything in the Third District because they were everywhere. And she couldn't see Ash, either.

"Ash!" she called out. "Ash!" One of the black ants attacked her. She took her sword and struck it, killing it. _Guess they're not good,_ thought Sarah.

She tried to make a path through the Third District by cutting through the ones that mattered, as Ash had taught her. But the more she killed, the more tried to attack her, swarming to get in her way.

"Ash!" she kept calling out. _Where is he? What if he's not even here? Maybe the things got him. Wait…are they all even Nobodies?_

The black things had a different symbol on them, one that looked like a heart with a dagger instead of a point at the bottom.

She hacked at more of them, clearing them out by groups, but it didn't seem to help. They just kept coming. She turned toward the door that led to the Second District, but she was in the middle of everything. The door was far away. And she was already here. What if Ash was knocked out or worse? She wouldn't leave until she found him.

"Ash! Are you here!" she asked as she hacked at the black creatures and the Nobodies. They were fighting each other as well, so it was a little easier on her.

She couldn't take another step. Literally. She couldn't pick up her legs to walk because the creatures were holding it down. A few Nobodies tried to attack her, knocking her down. Her head hit the pavement hard, and she felt that she was losing her fight to remain conscious. Soon it would all be over. Her vision started to get blurry and she vaguely heard a noise, like a door opening…

And then she knew no more.

_**-- -**_

_Strange voices echoed in her mind._

"_You can't leave now, I just found you."_

"_Would you give up everything?"_

"_If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives, no matter what."_

"_I'll find you again. I promise."_

_---_

"_This world has been connected. Tied to the darkness…soon to be completely eclipsed. You do not know what lies beyond the door. There is so very much to learn. You understand so little. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."_

**---**

"_You know, he's changed."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Well…_

**---**

"_Let's take the raft and go--just the two of us!"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Just kidding!"_

"_What's gotten into you? You're the one that's changed."_

_---_

"_Once we set sail, it'll be great!"_

_---_

_Sarah woke up, eyes snapping open. She turned her head to the right. She was in some kind of dark room. She turned and ran to the right, but ran into a glass wall. She turned and ran to the left, but ran into another glass wall. She kept running into glass walls, trapped._

_She couldn't shout, couldn't do anything._

_She ran to a glass wall and tried to pound on it, trying to shout but only silence came._

_She dropped her arms to her side in frustration. And then she felt something strange in her left hand. She looked down and saw the Keyblade in her hand._

_Suddenly the room became brighter. She could see where the glass stood. She also saw a path, but one that was filled with darkness._

_When she turned her head to face the glass, she didn't see her reflection, rather a person. A boy, one with brown spiky hair and blue eyes. He wore a baggy black and yellow outfit, and was holding a key in his hand._

_Sarah looked closer and saw the Nobodies and the black creatures start to surround him, and if he wasn't careful, he was going to be devoured by them._

_She tried shouting out to him, but it was still useless. She took her key and tried jamming it into the wall to shatter the glass._

* * *

"Sarah?" called out a voice. "Sarah!"

The pretty brunette opened her eyes, meeting those blue eyes she had seen in her dream.

"Is it Christmas?" she murmured, her voiced slightly slurred. She was back in her room at the Hotel. Ian was sitting on the chair beside the bed she was on, _her _bed, and was looking at her. He smiled, and she could see his relief.

"God, we were so worried about you," he said. "We found you in the Third District, those things all over you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, and then realized what had happened, her mind clearing. She shot up, almost headbutting Ian in the process. She turned to him. "What happened to Ash? Is he alright?"

"He's fine," Ian said, reassuringly. "He's in his room, along with the others; they're all in they're rooms, waiting for you to wake up. I stayed behind so I could help when you woke up…"

His voice trailed off as they realized how close they were. She could feel his breath. Her heart jumped to her throat, and she swallowed to push it back down, feeling a flutter in her stomach. He was holding her hand as well, Sarah realized, and Ian quickly let go. Sarah missed the warmth of his hand on hers. She blinked. Where did that come from? _No, Sarah! You do not think that about your best friend!_

She looked down at her hands quickly, as if examining them. "I, um…I guess we should get going," she started, her voice a little shaky. "We don't want to keep Ash waiting."

"Yeah," Ian said. "Come on."

She looked around for her Keyblade, and it came to her, somehow, appearing in her hands. She got up from the bed, using her Keyblade as a cane. Her head was still spinning, but she could still manage.

She opened the door that led to the Red Room, Ash's room, and saw that everyone was there, including Ash.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Sarah replied. "You?" He nodded.

Thea hugged her. "I'm glad you're okay. But next time, we all go as a team, kay?"

"Yeah," Sarah said.

Thea looked down at what Sarah was carrying, and a shadow crossed her face. "Oh, Gods. Oh, Gods, no."

"I didn't believe it at first, either." Seth said, in a cold voice.

"You're the new one, then, right?" asked Astra.

"This is worse than I thought," Ash said.

Sarah felt like she was the victim of an April Fool's joke.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked. "You know, don't you?" She threw the Keyblade on the ground, and it slid across the floor to Ash's foot. "What's happening to me?"

"You are the Keyblade's newest Master," Squall said. "It's new chosen one."

"I thought…" Seth started. "I thought it was only a legend before. I mean, Cid used to tell us so many stories, tales, and I just thought that this one was another tale. But…"

"Hey, listen," Ian started. "I don't know what's going on, either. So will someone tell us?"

"Y-yes, of course," Seth said. "Well, this isn't from Cid as much as our dad. As you guys know, years ago, before we came here to Traverse Town, we lived in Hollow Bastion, back then called Radiant Garden. Our leader there was Ansem the Wise, who used to conduct experiments to study how the heart worked. And our dad worked with Ansem the Wise for many years as a servant, watching him and his experiments.

"Well, about seven years ago, Ansem the Wise had found a young man collapsed on the street by the name of Xehanort. He came to be Ansem's apprentice, but having no memories, he pushed himself to try and find out his past. And, as the years went by, Ansem had acquired a bunch of other apprentices, six in all to be exact, including Xehanort.

"Well, as Ansem the Wise conducted his experiments, his first being Xehanort who volunteered, the six conducted experiments of their own on people, dangerous ones at that. Xehanort was sort of like a leader, because he had the greatest power of the six. Anyway, they conducted these experiments on the people, rather the darkness of their hearts and they meddled with that darkness.

"Anyway, I do remember something about the Keyblade," Seth said, looking at Sarah, who still had the Keyblade in her hand. She looked down at it too, while he continued.

"A man from another world came to Radiant Garden, by the name of Mickey. King Mickey of Disney Castle, actually, but that's not the only thing. He wielded the Keyblade as well, and was a very knowledgeable man. Under King Mickey's advice, Ansem had looked at the notes that the six apprentices had made in their experiments. Earlier, he had found out they were conducting these experiments and ordered them to stop, but didn't do anything with their notes.

"In the notes, Xehanort, assuming the name of Ansem, wrote about, he had messed with the people's hearts, and the people changed into…Heartless. They were after only one thing: to feed off the darkness in other people's hearts. They used pieces of the worlds destroyed called Gummi Ships to travel to other worlds where they devoured more hearts, until the entire world itself was destroyed.

"In the process, Xehanort and the other five apprentices lost all humanity. Literally. The darkness corrupted them, and they themselves turned into Heartless.

"But when a person is transformed into a Heartless, when the heart leaves the body, the body is left, only a vessel. This is called a Nobody, which change forms if the humans had weak hearts. That's what's out there right now. But the strong-hearted ones don't change form. The five plus Xehanort, but seven others. They kept their human form, but are still Nobodies. They called themselves Organization XIII and wreaked havoc on countless worlds.

"That is, until four years ago, yet another Keyblade Master showed up, by the name of Sora. He was just a kid, but goddess, he had the strongest heart and a will of steel. He beat the Organization, somehow, one by one. Somehow, but no one knows about his final battle, the showdown with Xehanort's Nobody. Nobody has seen or heard from him. Supposedly, he was supposed have returned to his home world, but the Heartless and Nobodies…as long as there is darkness inside one person's heart, a heartless and a Nobody will be born. The journey is never over."

"So then why fight?" Sarah asked. She knew the answer, though, because no matter what, if you can save a life of one person, it's worth it.

"There is a way to beat them," Seth said. "To close, seal and lock Kingdom Hearts, the ultimate door, then we can free people's hearts from darkness. Live in an ultimate utopia. And to do that, we need to gather all four Keyblade Masters together. And we know of three now."

"But that's gonna be kinda hard," Thea interjected. "I mean, we would need a Gummi Ship to travel to other worlds."

Seth grinned. "You forgot. Running an Accessory Shop was not the only thing Cid did. He was a pilot, too. Come on, guys. Get your things packed and meet me in the Waterway in a half hour. We're going on a trip!"

And with that, he ran out the door to the Hotel.

* * *

"Woah!" Ian said. They had reached a cave in the Waterway, and there was a _huge_ spaceship in the middle of it. 

"You know how to fly this thing?" Thea asked Seth.

"No problemo…just, uh…it might be a little bumpy ride. I never actually _flew _this thing. Cid just _told_ me how to fly it. But it should be fine." Seth said.

"I can fly this," Ash said.

"Well _someone_ better get this thing off the ground," Astra took another puff on the cigarette.

"Come on," Sarah said, going on the ramp that led to the inside of the ship. "Let's pick out our rooms. How many rooms are there?"

"Four," Seth replied.

"That sucks," Ian said. He was holding the most luggage, she noticed.

"Ian?" Sarah started sweetly, looking at the bag. "What do you have in there?"

He knew he couldn't fool her. "Um…well, I have some clothes, some weapons, and…"

"And your PS2 and Xbox? CDs, maybe an Ipod?" Sarah said, in a matter of fact way. Ian gave her that puppy dog look.

"Well, I thought, ya know, in space and stuff, the group would like, need something to pass time, and stuff…" Ian said. He grinned, and Sarah couldn't help but grin back.

Sarah looked up at the sky, rolled her eyes, and sighed. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Ian said, grinning. He turned around and walked on the ramp, but Sarah caught him by the arm.

"But, under one circumstance," Sarah said, another grin playing on her lips.

"Anything!" Ian said.

She put out her hand. "_My_ Ipod?"

He looked at her for a second and then realized what she was talking about. He reached in his duffel bag and took out a pink Ipod, which Sarah had loaned him and never got back.

"Thank you!" she called, before taking one last look at Traverse Town and heading up the ramp.

"Seth!" she called out to the cockpit. "What's our first stop?"

"I think it's time to meet some celebrities!" he called out. "And, maybe a little family reunion."

She turned toward the hallway, and saw Ian and Astra eagerly setting up the Xbox and the PS2. She grinned, and started toward the other rooms, when the ship suddenly jerked. They were leaving.

* * *

A/N: Wow! That took forever. I don't normally type that much, although I find it's more fun. I figure that I'm gonna do one world per chapter (or one chapter per world) although some of the upcoming events might take place in multiple chapters, in one or more worlds, but they are key events. So. Any thoughts, comments or concerns? There's that little box in the lower left hand corner. So PRESS IT! 


	2. In My Life

Kingdom Hearts III: Unwanted Rebirth – by the Angel Huntress

_A/N:_ Come on, people! I'm not writing this story for good health! Review! I don't even care if you flame or not. I'm lonely…I am so lonely…I have to reviews to call my own.

_**Reviews**: _

_Kimron fan _Thanks so much T! I'm soo glad you liked it. Been a while, huh? I'd forgotten your penname for a second. I was like thinking 'Okay. Kimron fan. Sounds familiar…and its Yay, T!'

_DuncanMcGregor_: Thank you! (gets into modest mode and blushes) Well, I didn't think it was _that_ great, but thank you so much! (gets into normal mode again) who am I kidding? That was freaking sweet:D Hope this chapter is as good, though.

_Genre_: Drama/Romance/Action & Adventure/ Mystery

_Rating_: T

_Crossover: _Well, it's Kingdom Hearts, I think that pretty much explains it, although there may be some non-Disney Xovers, like a certain Fox show that I am getting an _addiction _for, so that kinda…yeah. Anyway, back to the show, kids.

_Ship:_ OC?xOCxOC? triangle, SxK for later chapters,

_Setting: _Four years after KH2 because I believe that KH2 takes place directly after KH1, but I'm not sure cause Haley Joel Osmond's voice changed.

_Disclaimer_: Though Kingdom Hearts, Disney are not mine, as well as a few other shows and stuff that I do know own, I do own my plot, and my characters, and my design of the Keyblade. Also, the song later 'In My Life' is owned by the Beatles, which I am proud to say I can now play on guitar!

_Chapter 2 Summary: _After a really strange dream, Sarah and the gang arrive at Hollow Bastion. They meet a few old friends, seal a world, learn more, and continue onward…or so they think.

_Chapter 2 Warning: _A little minor swearing (I gave it up), violence (of course), and that this chapter is extremely long. The first one was 9 pages long on Word, and this one is at least 15.

Also, I think the only major FF Xover with KH that I've played (but not yet really beaten) is FFVII. I haven't seen half ofAdvent Children, nor have I played FFVIII.

* * *

Chapter 2: In My Life

"_Sarah? (Sarah Sarah) a voice called. It seemed to echo…wherever Sarah was. And it seemed to be so far away, farther than she could ever imagineThat voice…_

"_Sarah!" It called out again, echoing. _

_Sarah looked around the black room she was in. Pitch black except for the bright purple-blue swirls, that mist. She was aware that she was asleep, but at the same time it felt so real she was sure she wasn't dreaming._

_It sounded like the voice called out again, this time saying something like "Who are you?" and echoing. Sarah almost laughed. This was so clichéd. So…gothic._

"_Where are you?" called the voice, and this time it sounded like it right behind her. It didn't echo as much._

_Sarah spun around, to face that red-headed kid that she faced in the Second District. The one who could freeze time._

"_Sarah," he said, looking relieved. He didn't have that 'full-of-himself' look like he usually did, and she didn't feel threatened like she normally did._

Maybe this really _is_ a dream_, she thought, and the words echoed, even though she knew she didn't speak them._

_The kid came closer. "This isn't a dream, Sarah," he said. Another cliché. Your subconscious or dream telling you your not dreaming. "This is the only way I can talk to you without the others finding out."_

"_The others?" Sarah asked, confused. _

"_Yeah, the other Nobodies," he replied. _

"_You're a Nobody?" she asked. _

_He looked away. For the first time since she had ever met him, he looked serious. "That's not the point. Right now, you need to know something else. Something I can only tell you here. Remember this: you are the fourth Keyblade Master. The third one—the second one, actually, is closer than you think. The third one is farther than you think, but you are destined to meet, ever since you were born. Your hearts are connected, and nothing will stop you two from meeting. But your journey will come with a price. Look for the Prophecy."_

"_Prophecy?" Sarah asked, her voice echoing. He looked around, as if someone or something was catching his attention._

"_They're coming," he said, as if he was ready to go._

"_Who?" asked Sarah. _

_He didn't answer, rather looked back at her as if to say goodbye. "Sarah, we'll probably never meet like this again," he said, and he kissed her, on the cheek. She could feel his lips quiver, as if he were holding back something._

"_Don't die on us," he said, and turned to the purple haze._

"_Wait!" she called. "Who are you?" A strange voice was calling her through the purple haze, one that was robotic, loud, and talking to her—_

* * *

"Axel." 

Sarah woke up with a jolt, sitting upright in the bed (or rather sleeping bag).

It was weird how that name just came to her. Or did she hear it from somewhere? It was also weird how familiar that name was.

"…prepared for a landing," the P.A. speaker blared Seth's voice. She looked at the digital watch Dania gave her, 4:30 am. Everyone brought cool things from their homeworld to Traverse Town. Ian his video games, which were the coolest things Sarah and co. had ever seen, and also he brought so many exotic foods that his mother grew in the gardens. Dania brought her watches and her Ipod that she gave Sarah. Thea had her CDs that she had from her home. Squall and Seth and Astra brought a laptop computer and basketball and baseball, two really cool sports.

Thea and Astra were already out of the room. Could they be in the bridge? Sarah got up, but the entire ship quaked, knocking Sarah sideways and she crashed hard into the wall. She found her balance though, although the ship was still shaking. She made her way into the bridge, finding everyone there.

She walked toward Seth, Thea and Astra who were standing around this huge sphere shaped thing. The sphere-oscillo-finder, or SOF, as Seth had called it, was a map of all the worlds, the white dots representing the ones they had yet to visit, and the blue ones representing the ones they visited already. And so far, there were only two blue dots, one being Traverse Town, and the other one was the one they were closest to.

"How close are we?" she asked no one in particular.

"Look," Seth said, pointing to the huge window in front.

Sarah turned to the window, and saw that what had been black sky was now a huge world, one with towns, castles, forests (although Sarah didn't know that at the time) and they were already hitting atmo, golden clouds rushing by them, but the inertial dampeners kept everyone from falling over.

_Ash is a pretty good pilot,_ Sarah thought. _I wonder where he learned to do that? Wow, I guess I really don't know my dad as well as I think. Like where had he lived before Traverse Town?_ Ash was never one to talk about his past, and Sarah really never wondered.

The ship came down with a sudden crash, and Sarah grabbed on to the SOF as tight as she could to brace herself as the wheels below the Gummi ship extended and hit the ground, almost like a plane hitting an airstrip.

Finally, when the Gummi came to a full stop after going in circles to decrease the momentum, Sarah got up, looking out the window. It was the outside of a town, she noted, because she could see buildings in the background. But there was also a big castle in the background, too, in the other direction, about a ways away.

They exited the Gummi Ship, examining the area. The town and the castle weren't as far away as they had looked in the Gummi Ship, and Sarah figured the Gummi Ship made everything look smaller. The town was to the left of them, and the castle to the right.

"Where should we go?" asked Thea, still looking around. She, like Ian, Sarah and maybe Ash, had never been here.

"Left," Seth and Sarah said simultaneously. Seth glanced at her, but Sarah just shrugged. Some part of her mind felt like she knew where she was supposed to go, like a force that was pulling her toward something.

"But didn't Sora fight alongside them in the castle?" asked Astra.

"The town is where they live," replied Ash, who was already heading toward the town. "But by all means, go to the castle if you want."

Sarah caught up to him, even though the others walked behind a ways. "So, then, you know about Sora and the Keyblade? Did you know I was going to be chosen?"

He hid behind his sunglasses, not looking at her. He didn't turn as he walked. "Hmph. Maybe."

"Tell me what you know, old man," she said, calling him "old man" as she used to call him jokingly when she was a kid. "You knew what the Nobodies are. You killed one with a single blow, which means you came into contact with the Keyblade once. Why didn't you ever tell me this? Who _are_ you?"

"Ashford Hunter."

"No, I mean, before I was born, before you came to Traverse Town," she was pushing him, she knew, but she wanted answers.

"A warrior," he said, with a smirk. She knew she wasn't going to get a straight answer. She slowed down, waiting for Ian and Thea to catch up. Squall, Seth and Astra were in the back line.

"And _you_ knew about the Keyblade, too, then," Sarah said, not as a question. She was still pretty pissed offabout Ash, and now she was mad at Thea, mad at all of them except maybe Ian (cause he didn't know about the Keyblade), for never telling her about a warrior like this, a threat bigger than the local danger that was around Traverse Town like petty criminals, bullies and crooks.

"Hey," Ian interjected. "Don't get mad at her."

"Stay out of this, Ian, for your own good," Sarah threatened, and Ian backed away, not really wanting to fight her. But he still was listening in.

"You knew about the Keyblade? That I was going to be chosen?" Sarah didn't know _how_ she knew that they knew that she was going to be chosen by the Keyblade before it happened, she just had a feeling. And besides, if Thea could predict a small part of their futures as a seer, than couldn't she have known?

"Yes," Thea replied, her voice not wavering the slightest.

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't think it was important," Thea replied. "I'd tell you if it was, Sarah, you know that. Don't get mad at us for not telling you. It's not like it was a secret or anything. You had the same aura around you as Sora did, I could feel it. I don't know how, but somehow you're connected to him. I knew as soon as the Nobodies attacked that you were going to be chosen. But…I didn't want to have to relive what I had went through eight years ago. The Keyblade can bring light, but also terrible destruction."

"Okay," Sarah said, her voice low. She wasn't really mad anymore, more like embarrassed for even bringing this up. Thea was a witch, so she could sense auras and connections to people. This conversation seemed like a natural discussion with her. But something that Thea had said stuck to the back of Sarah's mind. _You had the same aura as Sora did. You're connected to him. _How could she be connected to someone she never met?

Was it just because she was a wielder of the Keyblade as well, or was it something bigger? She remembered whatAxel had said in her dream, somehow. _Your hearts are connected, and nothing will stop you two from meeting. _Did he mean Sora?

They were entering the town. And Thea and Ian were looking at her strangely.

"You okay, Sarah?" Thea asked.

"You were faraway," Ian sounded worried.

"No, I'm fine, really," Sarah assured them. She knew what they were thinking: it wasn't like her to space out.

"We're here," Ash said, stopping abruptly.

& - & - & - & -

Radiant Garden. The banner stood brightly, and the town itself was beautiful, even if it wasn't exactly a high class town.

Squall missed this place. Here he had felt home. They walked into town, Seth, Astra and Squall now leading the way.

They walked past the houses, and toward what was like an alleyway, and got attacked by more Nobodies. A lot more. _Not much has changed,_ Squall though bitterly as killed one with the gunblade.

His team killed them all, although more kept coming. The team was getting more spread out as more Nobodies and even more Heartless kept coming, which was not a good thing.

And then a bright light came from nowhere, and all Squall couldn't see anything.

When he woke up, he was laying down on the hard concrete. He looked around, but all he could see was that light. He was temporarily blind. And nothing was attacking him. He could start to see the shaded shapes of the buildings.

"Everyone alright?" Sarah asked. All present and accounted for.

"What _was_ that?" Ian half-asked, and half-shouted.

And someone was helping him out. A female, from what Squall could see. A girl about her age. Astra? Thea?

"Thanks," Squall told the girl, and he could see she had dark hair. Astra. Thea had fox red hair. He hoped Astra was okay. "All I can see is that light."

"Sorry. Aerith put in a Holy spell so it would only hurt the Nobodies and Heartless. We actually haven't really had another attack since then, so we didn't know if it had any side effects for humans, though." It wasn't Astra, but the voice was so familiar… and he could now see a rounded face with almond shaped eyes and a bright smile. She looked about twenty. Aerith? This girl knew Aerith? He still couldn't see her that well.

Another figure was around them, another female, who was wearing brown boots, a black tank top and black shorts. She had long black hair as well, and had a claw attached to her right hand. She turned around and though Squall couldn't see her face, she was pretty.

"Oh," said Squall. "It's starting to clear up."

Another girl came up to them. Sarah.

"You okay?" she asked. "S…Squall?" She sounded as if she wasn't sure if it was him, probably cause she was blind too.

"Yeah, fine," Squall replied.

"Hi, I'm Sarah," she said to the other girl. She and the girl shook hands.

"So who're your friends?" asked the girl.

"They're from Traverse Town, actually." he said, looking over.

"Traverse Town, really? I miss it. Can't really blame ya for wanting to stay." The light was clearing up a little bit more, but he still couldn't tell who she was or how she knew him.

He paused, seeing pretty brown eyes, familiar brown eyes, and felt the color drain from his face. "Yuffie?"

"Who'd ya think it was, Squallie?" Yuffie said, calling him by what she _always _called him, since they were little. Although he didn't do it physically, he mentally rolled his eyes. Yuffie always did that effect on people. Since they were about six, Yuffie and Squall were best friends, but that all changed when they were twelve. When the Heartless attacked.

They'd grown up together since they met, and Squall even helped her with her "Materia Hunting" (although he liked to call her a thief) career. He had heard about Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Barret, Vincent, Cid, and a few others from Yuffie, but never met them until later.

"Well, I couldn't tell. You _geniuses_ made us blind, remember?" he tried to make it in a snapping tone, but somehow it came out more sarcastic and cynical.

And then all of a sudden the girl was hugging him. "Oh, Squallie, I missed you!" she said, and Squall honestly didn't know what to do. He put his arms around the girl,akwardly, although strangely, the girl in his arms felt good, natural He looked up at Sarah for help, but she was looking mad, her jaw clenched, and was staring—or rather _glaring_—at something behind him.

He looked and saw the other girl helping up Ian, and Ian was doing what he did best to new pretty girls: smooth talking with them. Flirting. The other girl laughed at something he was saying, and he casually put a hand behind his head.

Sarah had her jaw clenched, and then it was unclenched. She reeled back as if she had been slapped, and Squall knew what she was thinking: the same thing he was. _Woah, hold on a second. This is your best friend, idiot._

Yuffie, after she let go, was saying something. "I'm sorry, what?" Squall asked.

"Are you looking for someone here?" she asked.

"Actually, I—" Squall started, mad, but broke off, kind of mad she had figured they were here other than just visiting.

"It's okay, really," she sounded hurt. "We just missed you is all. You look so much like Leon. Wait till he hears you're back. And Tifa came, too." Yuffie said, indicating to the girl talking to Ian.

"Tifa?" Squall stood bewildered as he watched the two talking. Tifa looked so different. "So Cloud's back?"

"Yeah, but actually, they didn't come together. Cloud was looking for Aerith, and Tifa was looking for Cloud…you know how _that_ gets." Yuffie rolled her eyes, as did Squall, which surprised both Squall and Sarah to no extent.

"But Tifa's…different," he said, gesturing to the scene going on. The last time they had met, she was chasing after Cloud, which bugged Cloud, even though they were childhood friends, he still was in love with someone else.

"Yeah. I think she gave up on Cloud. He's stuck on Aerith. I think it's from everything that happened on Planet. Tifa's been more…outgoing, since then. She even tried Leon." Yuffie said.

Squall didn't physically smile, but his eyes did. Squall tried to imagine Tifa trying get Leon to go on a date with her, and Leon trying to keep a cool tone every time she asked, finally getting agitated and showing it.

"Come on," Yuffie said. "Let's meet the others."

"Speaking of the others," Sarah looked around, "Where are _our_ others?"

Squall turned, and saw that she was right. Only Ian, Tifa, himself, Sarah, and Yuffie were standing outside. The rest were nowhere to be found.

Yuffie shrugged. "Maybe they're inside already," the ninja suggested.

"Yeah," Sarah said, and they followed her. As they did, they walked past Ian and Tifa, and Sarah grabbed Ian's upper arm _hard_ and dragged him away.

"Come on," Sarah muttered.

"Hey, what-ow!-what gives?" Ian whined, but walked with her.

Squall had to smile at that, but not physically, of course. He always knew there was something going on between these two, and here they were fighting like an old married couple.

"So, Yuffie. What've you been doing these last few years?" he asked. Last time he'd seen her was at Traverse Town, but he didn't really see her, with all the commotion with the Heartless, and with him losing his memories.

He didn't remember anything, something about the Heartless coming very close to turning him into one of them. Actually, for a while, he had lost his heart. A Heartless had took it out of him, and it took a very nice girl who knew a powerful Holy to kill the creature and with it she and her three friends took Squall's heart and with it took it to Traverse Town and helped Leon and Yuffie put it back. And that was how Cloud, Tifa, Cid, and Aerith came into meeting Leon and Yuffie.

But when they put back Squall's heart, something had been damaged. The Heartless must've already have started to consume a part of his heart, the part with his most precious memories. He woke up not knowing his own cousin, his own best friend. He was scared, and ran away.

He was the first one of his group who discovered the Waterway. He stayed there, ate there with the little food he bought at the restaurant, slept there, trained there. He didn't remember much, other than he was a fighter and had just been through hell and back. He remembered bits and pieces, but memories of someone else, someone that wasn't him.

Yuffie was the one who found him there, three days later. Tried to tell him that she was his friend, had been his best friend since they were kids. In his confusion and anger, he attempted to strike her with the blade, but she blocked. They had fought, until neither one had won, but until they were tired out. He started to trust her, because how else could she know all of his moves, and he know all her moves, unless they knew each other well?

She told him about Radiant Garden, told him about who he was, not just about his life, but about his character as well, about his family and about his friends. She didn't tell him much about herself, though. That was for him to figure out. It took him two years to remember, and by then they had left. Two years for him to meet the two people closest to him all over again. It took him two years to find out there were people toying with his heart, his memories. That person in his memories was someone else, another victim of the Heartless that preyed on him. He never met those people, the ones that toyed with his memories, but knew who they were.

During those two years, he found out a lot about himself. He wasn't really all cool and tough like his cousin Leon was. Actually, he was just the opposite. He was a good kid, sarcastic, outgoing, mischievous, and courageous, a lot like Ian, really, but he just wanted to act like his cousin because Leon had survived so much, and Squall wanted to survive. Leon had lost a lot, too, and Squall didn't want to lose anything, so he only kept two friends, besides his family.

"Squallie! Earth to Squall!" called Yuffie.

Squall blinked, startled. Yuffie laughed. "You were spacing out again."

"Sorry, just thinking," Squall said, trying to act cool. As they walked, he noticed all the surroundings. And he noticed that she hadn't really answered his question. "So, what _have_ you been doing?"

"Well, actually, a lot. I've fought with a Keyblade Master, trained really hard, and I even _fought_ the Keyblade Master—in a tournament, of course, and I lost anyway—and, well, I even helped in saving the world—this one, at least." Yuffie grinned at him.

"You've changed," he noted.

"Tell that to Leon. He still thinks I'm a kid," she let out a small laugh. "But Sora beat him in the tournament, too. _Twice_."

"You know Sora?" Squall asked, stunned. It was kinda funny how so many people could just be connected to a kid who was their age.

"Yep."

"We're looking for him," Squall started, but they approached a familiar house, and Yuffie had an expression that he knew. She wouldn't talk until they went inside.

"We're here!" Yuffie shouted back to the rest of them. Squall heard that phrase for the third time today.

It was a small house, although a big one compared to the rest of them, and it had a glowing fireball on the door. Yuffie opened it, holding it open for them.

"Welcome to RGRC. The Radiant Garden Restoration Committee!" she said, and Squall saw computers and what looked like a living room. Two couches. A table. A few chairs. And on one of the couches and one of the chairs were Seth, Astra, Thea, and Ash.

On the other couch, across the room from the one the team was on, was a blond guy looking a little older than Ash's age, another guy who looked a few years younger than Ash and who looked just like Squall, and a beautiful brunette woman who looked about twenty-something, with chestnut brown hair that was up and a simple pink dress.

On the chair next to the brunette was a guy with blond spiked up hair and a black coat. His eyes were the eyes of anyone who was in SOLDIER, Squall knew, from the Mako infusion, although he and only a few others knew that Cloud had not been in SOLDIER at all. And next to him was a man who looked very old, with a long white beard and a weird looking hat. A wizard.

"Everyone," Yuffie said with her regular cheerfulness. "This is Ian, Sarah, and you all know Squall."

"Home sweet home," Squall muttered to Yuffie, and she smiled. This was his house, where he and his family had lived before the Heartless came.

The people from his past got up to greet them. Sarah and Ian shook hands with Leon first, then with Cid, Merlin, Aerith, and Cloud, but Squall got the biggest welcoming, with a handshake from the guys but Aerith hugged him, and Leon even messed up his hair.

"Why are you all here?" asked Leon, as they pulled out more chairs.

"Sarah," Squall called. "Summon it."

Sarah closed her eyes and Squall saw her focusing. Although he didn't think she could just summon it on cue, he trusted her. Last time it had come to her in battle. But then he saw it came to her.

And when she opened her eyes, she looked as surprised about it as he felt. _Here we go again,_ he thought bitterly. He felt sorry for her, because everyone was staring at her. But she said, "I know. Yesterday, a bunch of Nobodies and Heartless attacked our home, Traverse Town. This…just came to me when I was fighting, and…"

"We were hoping if you could help us find Sora, and the other Keyblade wielders," Seth said.

"Last time we saw Sora," said Leon contemplatively, "was around four years. He was supposed to head back to his island, his home, but nobody has seen or heard from him since."

"Actually, though," said Aerith. There was much wisdom in her voice, and Squall supposed it had a lot to do with her being a Cetra, an Ancient. "Come to think of it, the Organization is supposed to be reforming."

"Yeah," said Tifa, agreeing. "A man in a black robe was seen in Radiant Garden shortly before the Nobodies started attacking again."

Squall saw Sarah stiffen, tense, now, but he didn't really understand why.

"The Organization?" Seth leaned forward, his chin in his hands. "I thought Sora killed them four years ago."

"He did, but I don't think Nobodies can actually die," said Cloud. Cloud had a brighter look to him, not his normal brooding look. Did it have something to do with the news he heard about someone finally defeating Sephiroth? Did he have something to do with it…?

"We've come up with a theory of why the Organization might be back. The human is made up of three essential things:" said Aerith carefully, "the body, the heart, and the soul. When a person loses its heart, the body left over turns into a Nobody. The soul leaves, but a part of it remains in the Nobody, enough for the Nobody to live, but not enough for the Nobody to have a conscience. And when the Nobody dies, the piece of the soul is trapped forever, in Oblivion.

"For stronger Nobodies, though, like Organization XIII, however, they still lose pieces of their soul, but not all of it. They have a conscience, but because they lost their hearts, they don't necessarily listen to it. And when they die, they, too go to Oblivion, but if they are strong enough, they can stay in the universe.

"Like a ghost who has unfinished business," Sarah suggested.

"Exactly," Yuffie said. "And I think that the Keyblade Masters still living are their unfinished business."

This girl _has_ changed, Squall noted. He noticed a new depth to her that was never there before.

"So, then what?" Sarah asked. "I mean, if the Keyblade Masters still being alive is their 'unfinished business', the Keyblade Masters have to kill them all again and then kill themselves?"

"I don't think so," Aerith said. "We think if all four Keyblade Masters come together and seal Kingdom Hearts once and for all, the Organization will remain in Oblivion."

"So, then," Sarah said. "Just fight the Organization and seal Kingdom Hearts? Piece of cake."

He found them staring at Sarah again, but this time, it was a different look. One like…_I like this kid._

"Actually," said Aerith, who was holding a leather book that looked worn out and old beyond reason. "It may not be so simple. There is a prophecy I had found when I looked through Ansem's journals. It's about the Keyblade Masters, but no one knows what it really means."

"A Prophecy?" Sarah asked, startled. It was as if she heard something about it before.

"Yes. It goes:

" 'Four to stand between the light and shadow, to be the Key to the ultimate Kingdom, Three to live the trilogy, Two bound to their destiny, One who from the twilight to be one with the dark, to restore what was once lost.' "

The room was silent, for a few seconds. Squall wondered what the last three lines could mean.

"I get the first line," said Thea, who sounded very intrigued by this Prophecy. "But the last three?"

"Aren't we all bound to our destinies?" asked Sarah.

" 'From the twilight,' " started Ash, sounding deep in thought. "I wonder if that means from Twilight Town?"

"Maybe," Leon said, in thought. "We're still trying to figure it all out."

"On your travels, though," started Aerith, "maybe it would be wise if you took Ansem's journal with you. It may help to unravel a few mysteries of your journey, or your journey may even unravel a few mysteries in the journal."

"Really?" Seth said. Aerith gave him the book, the journal and Seth took it carefully.

A strange noise came, and Squall recognized it as the defense system. Something was attacking the town. Something or someone was attacking the town.

& - & - & - & -

What felt like a huge earthquake shook up the entire house. Sarah was thrown off the chair.

She sprang up on her feet, calling out the Keyblade once more now that she learned how.

"Come on, guys!" she shouted to her team, and maybe to Leon's team, too.

They raced out, and saw a huge dragon. A wyvernmaster. And just below the wyvernmaster, in the town square, was someone in a hooded black robe, arms raised as the wyvernmaster was flying in circles around the town. Around the square.

The person in the black robe slowly put their arms down, facing (Sarah wasn't really sure if that person was _looking)_ at the group. A group of Dusks appeared, as well as a few Neo Shadows. Sarah knew this wasn't going to be an easy Boss fight.

She needed diversity, and she needed it in groups. Herself, a physical fighter, a healer and black mage, and another close attacker. Thea, herself, and Ian.

"Okay!" she called out, ignoring the figure in black who was headed for the Bailey. They were still a ways away from each other, though. "Ian, Thea. My team. Seth, Squall, Astra, Ash, I need you guys to split up and fight the Heartless, Nobodies _and_ the wyvern. Got it?"

"And leave us out?" called Yuffie. She was geared up and ready, her weapon in hand, as were Tifa, Leon, Cloud, Aerith, and even Cid. Merlin had his staff out, too.

"Damn, kid, I'm too old for this!" called Cid.

"Aer," Cloud said, "stay back, okay?"

She shot him a look that was neither a malicious one or a sarcastic one. But he backed off, nonetheless.

"Just…stay close," he told her.

"Always," was her reply, and she, Cloud and Tifa lunged for the Wyvern, as Yuffie, Cid, Merlin and Leon fought the incoming Fat Bandits, Devastators Heartless, along with the Berserker, Dusks, and Assassin Nobodies.

Seth and Squall were shooting their guns like crazy, taking out a bunch of Neo-Shadows and Dusks in the process, but also hitting some buildings.

"Don't go trigger happy, guys, got it?" Astra said, sarcastically, making the two boys stop, and give her a funny expression. They turned back toward the Nobodies and Heartless, and went closer, Squall using his blade, now, and Seth shooting, over and over, because of the spell Thea had cast had allowed the gun have limitless ammo.

Sarah turned back to Thea and Ian. "Okay, guys. Let's go."

They raced to the Bailey, Sarah leading the way, and Thea and Ian in the rear. The figure in black was merely standing, as if waiting. No weapons, no Nobodies.

Sarah stopped, not quite in battle position, but almost. "Tell me," she said. "Are you with Organization XIII?"

"Maybe," replied the hooded person.

"Are you…?" she started, but another person appeared, out of thin air. A more familiar looking one.

"Miss me?" he asked. He removed the hood, and it was Axel"Hi, Sarah." He turned to the other figure. "I've got this Keyblade Master."

"But—" protested the hooded person.

"Orders are orders. Unless you wanna tell the _Boss_." Axel grinned, and the figure looked down, sulking.

"Okay, fine," he said. "You want, you can take care of the lackeys."

The hooded figure nodded, and Sarah charged at AxelHe easily dodged her, and flipped her over in the process.

"I'm waiting, princess," he said, and disappeared, and Sarah saw him on the ground level, standing near the castle gates.

She got up, looking back at Thea and Ian. The hooded figure had their arms spread, as if summoning an attack. Thea looked at Sarah and nodded for her to go ahead without them. Sarah nodded back, and turned around, racing down the steps toward the castle gates.

Axelwas standing there, with his back toward her.

"Axel," she said.

"I see you've done your homework," he said, his back still toward her.

"You're a Nobody," she stated.

"What's it to you?"

"And you're in Organization XIII?" she asked. No way he really was. If that dream was real, then why help her?

"So what if I am?" he turned toward her, and his jaw was clenched, but his eyes were sarcastic. He had that full-of-himself look again.

"I-I…had a dream the other day," her voice was really quiet and low, her head down. It just felt awkward saying this, and stupid, but this was something she had to know. "And you were in it."

"Can't really say it surprises me," he said, grinning wickedly.

Sarah felt her face grow hot, but continued. "No, I-I mean—oh, goddess, i-it wasn't like _that_—but…y-you told me stuff. Like stuff to watch out for, s-stuff to happen. And some of it came true. And then…" her voice trailed off as she rememberedthekiss, subconsciously touching her hand to her cheek.

He only raised an eyebrow. "And…what are you trying to say? I'm a nice guy? Cause that ain't true. I rarely help out anyone. And when I do, it's for my own benefit."

"I don't believe you." She composed herself, her voice steady, this strong emotion coming over her. She knew he was lying. She didn't know how, or what came over her.

"Well," he said, summoning his wheels once more. "Can't have that, now, can we?"

Sarah rolled her eyes for real, and charged at him once more, Keyblade in hand. It felt weird, really, around him. One minute she felt small and nervous, stuttering every word and babbling, and the next she felt completely relaxed in a sort of way, her sarcastic tone and…control coming back to her.

Their weapons clashed as she brought the Keyblade down to strike him first, the metal against metal made sparks fly that were a beautiful color, one not quite purple and blue, but somewhere in between. The wheels also gave off little flames of sorts when the Keyblade hit it.

She threw in a bunch of fancy blows, which he blocked, as she had anticipated. She used the combo she had tried against Ian the other night in hopes it would work, by charging atAxel and striking him with the Keyblade, rushing past and giving him a very painful blow in the stomach. She did just that, and saw him double over in pain, not quite letting go of his weapons, but the way he was standing, there was no way he would be faking.

She ran up to him, grinning triumphantly. "So, how does it feel to witness the awesome power of the Keyblade?" she taunted. "And, yeah, I would have to say this thing _is_ freakin' sweet."

She held out the Keyblade in a controlling defeat way, teeth up, to show she was the winner. She saw him grin, and look up at her.

"Let's see how powerful you are without a Keyblade, then," he said, and put the wheel on the Keyblade in such as way that the Keyblade got caught in the wheel. He raised the other wheel, summoning the fire as he did, but she got him first by punching him in the face.

And when her hand connected with his chin, something happened that was beyond her experience. Her mind exploded.

- - - -

It was like her dream, except for the bright purple mist had changed to a black and red swirl. Endless.

"_What the hell?"_ she heard a voice, but it wasn't a voice. It was so much more clearer. Like it wasechoing inside her mind. And it was Axel's. He was just a few feet away, she saw, as her eyes adjusted to…wherever they were.

"_Where are we?"_ she asked, and again, felt it resonate in her mind.

"_What did you do?"_ he seemed agitated, and the mist around them swirled faster like a tornado.

"_I-nothing!"_ she shouted, and tried to look around, but felt something like forcefields come up, albeit invisible ones.

"_Get out of here! You have no right to just…barge in like this!"_ he shouted.

"_What do mean? I didn't _do_ anything! And where are we?" _Sarah shouted, starting to walk. She felt the forcefield gently stop her, but by touching it, she saw it went down.

She saw a kid, no older than fourteen or fifteen, with red hair that was more tamed and toned down. It was spiky, but much shorter. He was wearing jeans and a black shirt, with a white lab coat over it. He was in some sort of lab, with a blond man much older, as well as a pretty blond girl the same age as the red-head and a man around twenty with long purple-silver hair and glowing eyes. The silver-haired boy and the blond were also wearing a lab coat, and the blond man was hooking the red-headed boy to a machine, hooking electrodes to the red-head's forehead.

"Thalon," said Ansem the Wise calmly. "Tell me, what is the last thing you remember before you came here? To Radiant Garden?"

The mist swirled and the lab changed to a castle. The inside was beautiful as was the outside, with crowds of people. One boy in particular, no older than eight or nine, and another boy with browner hair, a tinge of red but not really, a younger one, about five or six. His brother.

"_I remember…the castle,"_ narrated a voice from far away, a strange one, much older. Thalon's. "_We had lived there since before I was born. My father was of noble descent. A good fighter. And Mother…she was a sweet woman. Kind to everyone."_

The two brothers walked to a room, where a man with red hair as red as Thalon's was, but with determined green eyes like his brother's, and a woman with light brown hair as brown as Thalon's brother, but eyes like Thalon.

"Mother would sing to me and Lae all the time. She was singing that night, to us."

The two boys were tucked into their beds, Father away, protecting the castle. Mother sat on a chair in between the two twin sized beds, her voice like a crystal as she sang.

"_There are places I remember,_

_all my life, though some have changed_

_some forever not for better,_

_some have gone, and some remain,_

_all these places have their moments,_

_with lovers and friends, I still can recall,_

_some are dead and some are living,_

_In My Life, I've loved them all_

_But of all these friends and lovers,_

_there is no one, compares with you,_

_and these memories lose their meaning,_

_when I think of love, as something new_

_though I know I'll never lose affection,_

_for people and things, that went before_

_I know I'll often stop and think about them,_

_In My Life, I love you more_

_though I know I'll never lose affection,_

_for people and things, that went before_

_I know I'll often stop and think about them,_

_In My Life, I love you more"_

The boys were asleep, and Mother got up, leaning over and kissing each boy on the cheek. She was heading for her own room when her husband came running in, his determined look mixed with a tinge of panic.

"What's wrong, dear?" asked Mother.

"Get the boys, you have to leave," replied her husband, getting his sword. Thalon and his brother were already awake, though, because they had always pretended to be asleep so that when Mother left they would talk.

"Come, boys," said Father, taking them out of the room and into the long hallway.

"Deleus—" started Mother, calling Father by his full name, something she only did in an emergency.

"The castle is under attack. The space vessel is preparing to leave, so you must hurry. Here." Father tossed Thalon a sword. Thalon didn't know how to use it, but took it anyway. He had seen how Father used it.

"But, Deleus, what about y—" started Mother.

But Father was knocked down by a soldier, a knight in black a black robe. He was stabbed in the back. Mother screamed.

"Deleus!" she yelled.

"Go! Protect the children!" he shouted to her, and he rolled over weakly and prepared to fight the soldier.

Mother got that determined look which she rarely had, and rushed the boys forward. "Come, boys. We have to board the vessel."

"But, what about Father?" Lae asked.

"Father will come later."

"Is Father gonna die?" asked Thalon.

"No!" shouted Mother, as they approached a tall door.

As the door opened, Mother turned around, and Thalon saw three more knights. Mother stood between the boys and the knights, looking up, arms out. Her eyes rolled up, and a light struck the knights, killing them in an instant. But not quick enough. Before the spell killed them, one of the knights drove his sword through her heart.

"Mother!" Lae screamed.

"Come on!" screamed Thalon, and they turned around and ran through the door.

It was the throne room, and it was another long hallway before they would reach the throne. Thalon grabbed Lae's hand, and started to run forward, to the throne, to the hatch.

He felt Lae pulling on his hand, and stopped, turning around. A knight was pulling Lae by the hand.

"Thalon!" he screamed, gripping on to Thalon's hand. Thalon looked down at the sword that Father gave him. He would protect his brother.

He took the sword and cleanly cut off the knight's arm, letting Lae go in the process.

"Come on!" shouted Thalon, turning around, and started to run.

"Thalon!" shouted Lae again, and another knight had him in his arms, and was far away from him.

"No!" shouted Thalon, and another knight struck Thalon with a sword in the back, through the stomach. Thalon slumped to the ground as he saw his brother being carried out. The vessel left without him. It would be a long time (a day, in fact) before anyone ever found him. Orphaned, brotherless, and dying.

Axel the older one, was right in front of her, teleporting, arms crossed.

"_Get out of my mind!" _he shouted, and she nearly fell. Mind?

He pushed her, and she felt a barrier go up again. She fell from his push, but didn't hit the ground. It was like rushing backward through a roller coaster. Unpleasant and fast.

- - - -

And when the rushing stopped, they were back in Radiant Garden, in the same exact place they were what seemed like an hour ago. Her punch was still there, and her Keyblade was still stuck. Ian and Thea were still fighting, and that meant that whatever just happened had happened in a split second in real time.

_Was that a dream?_

Axelstumbled back a little and she spin-kicked him in the stomach, sending him backward and also freeing the Keyblade. She was about to swing the Keyblade when there was a noise from the sky, loud and booming.Axel looked up at the sky, closing his eyes.

He nodded, as if he were speaking to someone, and then looked back down at her.

"Well," he started, and Sarah wasn't sure if he was talking to her or not. "We really should do this again. Dinner, maybe?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He had his normal 'full-of-himself' look again, but was that a tinge a fear as well? But he grinned as he disappeared, vanishing into thin air.

She turned back around and decided to help the others, a surprise attack toAxel's buddy.

& - & - & - & -

The powerful spell knocked Ian and Thea backward, onto the floor. Ian had never felt that much power from a non-elemental spell, not even from Thea.

"Jeez," Ian said, as he tried picking up both himself and Thea. "This guy packs quite a punch. He's gonna be hard to beat. No offense."

"None taken," said the red-headed mage, and she turned toward the hooded guy, her bright green eyes going white. Gusts of wind filled the Bailey, and the hood came down.

"Jeez! He's a chick!" Ian shouted, in shock, and he was right. "And a cute one." A blond, and a pretty one, too. But there was something in her eyes, something about her that wasn't right. Utter evil. Ian liked it.

Thea grimaced in disgust. "Good luck."

"Hey," Ian said to the woman. "Ya know, maybe after all this is said and done, after all the fighting, ya know, maybe we could get together, have coffee or something?"

She responded by hitting the wall next to him with her weapons.

"A feisty one," Ian said, grinning. He got in battle position, his sword raised in his right hand to the level of his eyes. It always looked cool like that. He'd met someone once who'd fought like that, and he copied that person.

The blond smiled evilly, rolled her eyes and looked behind her. Sarah was there, breathless, but her will as strong as ever.

"So, what, there are more of you guys to kill?" Sarah said, sarcastically. She was in her fighting stance, crouched down, clutching the Keyblade with both hands.

"Are all Keyblade Masters so stuck-up or is it just you two?" asked the blonde, getting out her weapons, ready to attack.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sarah asked, gripping the Keyblade.

"Whatever you want it to mean," she snapped, and then laughed.

_Okaay, _thought Sarah, mentally laughing at how this chick was really weird. She made a slight look to Thea, who already had a fireball she was conjuring in her hand. Sarah nodded slightly, and the blond whirled on Thea, catching the signal.

Just as planned. Sarah sprang on the blond, launching attack after attack, the first and second one going through though the others were blocked as she reacted. The three fought her, which was a blessing because she was clearly the superior against each of them one on one.

The cloth on the robe was cut in various places, but Sarah saw no cuts on the blond. Maybe Nobodies don't bleed. No heart, no blood? If that was the case, this was going to be a very tough battle.

The three were getting tired out easily, but it was the blond that fell in defeat. The Keyblade must hurt Nobodies another way, probably pouring light into a dark being, crushing it internally.

She fell to the ground, and her body started to fade into darkness, likeAxel did, but in a different way. More like, disintegrating into the darkness. She was dying a Nobody's death.

"Guess it is just you two," she said, smiling not a cruel smile, but just a smile before she completely disappeared.

Sarah turned to Thea and Ian, who were also out of breath from the battle. They started to head back to the town.

"I-guess," Ian started between breaths. "It's-over-here."

"Not quite," said that voice, and she appeared between them and the gates.

The Golden Trio took a step backward.

"You-" started Thea, mad, a fireball in her hand.

"You were just testing our strength!" Sarah realized. No wonder it seemed like she was holding back.

"Oh, come on," said the blond. "I just _had_ to have the perfect exit. Who knew you'd be so gullible? You didn't think I was _that_ weak, did you? You still have a long way to go before you and I will be equal in battle."

"Yeah," Sarah said, laughing sarcastically. "Hey, didn't I hear something about a _kid_ taking care of you? You know, a few years ago? I bet him and I were equals in battles. He'd just started out, too. You know, Sora?"

Something flashed in the blonde's eyes. She made a noise that was neither human nor animal, but something in between, like a growl.

"Come on, one more battle, one on one, me and you. No holding back, either one of us." Sarah provoked.

"You know, Sarah. You sound just like him." Said the blonde, smiling evilly. Was it her or was this chick bipolar?

"Him?" asked Sarah. The blond just laughed. "You're bizarre."

"Name's Larxene. Commit to memory." Larxene said, and then dissapeared.

"Riight." Sarah said before they turned and left.

"You know," Ian said as they walked back. "I think those Nobodies lose more than their Hearts. I think they lose their sanity in the process, too."

It was over. Not a Heartless or a Nobody was in sight and the wyvernmaster was dead, lying on the ground.

It seemed to happen all at once, because everyone was still in battle position, and looking around like they didn't know what was going on.

Aerith spotted Sarah and the group and walked to them, as everyone else followed.

"What happened?" she asked Sarah. Sarah grinned.

"I don't think you guys'll be bothered by them for a while," Sarah said.

& - & - & - & -

Back at Merlin's house, at the RGRC meeting place, everyone was back sitting down. Aerith was talking to them before they left.

"It may be harder to defeat the Organization members now that they have been reborn. The only sure way to defeat them is by locking and sealing Kingdom Hearts. Please, take extreme care when dealing with the Organization. They may have a great advantage."

"Thank you," Sarah said carefully, and was handed back the journal. "Are you sure you don't wanna come with?"

"Radiant Garden needs someone to be constantly vigilant," Leon replied, "to constantly protect it while you are protecting other worlds. We'll be fine."

"I have no doubts about that," Sarah said, smiling. "But if you do ever need anything, remember you guys have another Keyblade Master looking out for you."

"And if you ever need anyone, you got the RGRC looking out for you guys, too!" said Yuffie cheerfully.

"Thanks," Sarah said, saying goodbye to everyone, everyone shaking hands, hugging, and the like.

"Listen, Sarah," Cloud said as they started to leave. "I thought you guys might want this for when you go to other worlds. A group of seven is pretty big, and some might not be able to tolerate that many people from other worlds, some may not even be able to tolerate any. Take this with you, and remember to keep in groups of at least three or four."

He handed them what looked like a cell phone, but different. "The PHS?" asked Squall.

Cloud nodded. "The very same one I used five years ago. It allows you to be able to switch party members at any time, even if they're halfway around the world."

"Thank you," Sarah said.

"And one more thing, Sarah," Aerith said. "Be careful who you tell about you being from another world. All worlds have connected paths, but some worlds are not aware of this. They might not understand your mission, and may chose to harm you. The wisest decision is to try to blend in with the culture and community as much as possible."

"Thank you." Sarah said, and they got on board the Gummi Ship.

She was going over the words her new friends had told her and was trying to form a plan around it. But she needed more information on the next world.

"Hey, Seth?" she asked him at the bridge by the SOF.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Where we going next?"

"Dunno," replied Seth, who was looking at Ash for orders.

"We're heading to that world," Ash said, pointing to a white dot. "Set a course for Smallville, Kansas."

* * *

A/N: Like it? Hate it? I thrive off reviews, so push that little purple button. If you have any ideas or hate my ideas for more Xovers, I have Smallville next, and House, Supernatural, Kim Possible, Harry Potter, X-men, and I'm wondering about Wicked. I'm gonna throw in the best Disney like Pirates of the Carribean (mmm…Johnny Depp is soooo hot) and Lion King, and what else? I'm not doing worlds that were in both KH1 and KH2, cause they're kinda overplayed. So tell me ideas, heroes of that world (or heroines, I thrive off female fighters ((girl power and equal rights and all that)) or tell me if my ideas are good or not. I like my readers to know the Xovers. That's why I'm torn on Wicked. 


	3. Bohemian Rhapsody

Kingdom Hearts III: Unwanted Rebirth –by the Angel Huntress

_A/N: _Okay, take three. The first time I typed up this chapter it was fifteen pages on word. I saved it on my flash drive and left it somewhere where I wouldn't go to for another week. Then, I typed up another and completely different in every way chapter in about a week, but I didn't finish it in time and didn't have a flash drive so I had to print it out and now just copy it to Word. Phew.

So, I'll try and work on not getting distracted. Ooh, Doctor Who's on Sci-Fi channel…not! Lol. (P.S. fellow American fans of Doctor Who who want the Sci-Fi channel to play season 2, WATCH IT ON SEPTEMBER 29 FOLLOWING THE DAILY ROTATION (7:00-3:00) OF SEASON 1.

Also, I must tell you guys that this chapter is being co-authored with a friend of mine, who _loves_ Smallville. Yay, so go him! (And remember, if you guys are gonna flame me, remember that its going to be a fourteen-year-old's feelings you hurt too)

And, if you can get the small reference to Doctor Who, you get a cookie!

**Reviews:**

_Kimronfan_: Thanks, T! Yeah, I think the whole reason I wasn't that into writing fanfics was cause I think Kingdom Hearts II kinda sparked my writer's talent sorta. Although, my other fic called She will Be Loved, I think my reviewers might say something different about that. Anyway (hey, did you get the PM? AIM's acting funny)

DuncanMcGregor: Thanks for the input! I think the one after the next chapter is going to be Doctor Who. Tell me if you think this is a good idea: Ten/Rose pairing. If you're American like I am, and haven't seen much of season 2, just go to they have a whole lot of episodes, including the sad sad season 2 finale, and you'll understand why I'm mad at the writers. Just be warned: It's a tearjerker. And this is coming from me.

_Genre:_ Drama/Romance/Action & Adventure/ Mystery/Humor kinda because remember its Kingdom Hearts

_Rating:_ T

_Crossover:_ Although this is Kingdom Hearts, I am sort of straying away from Disney (though there are some Disney worlds, depending on _how many reviews tell me!_) but there are various shows that are on regular channels like Smallville, Supernatural, House, Kim Possible, along with very popular movies like X-men and Harry Potter and Doctor Who which you can see Season 2 on Sci-Fi channel starting September 29! Ooh I can't wait!

_Ship: _OC(gotta guess)Sarah OC(gotta guess), SxK for later chapters, and the major character (like Sarah's team) pairings. ClarkLana angst ClarkChloe hint and friendship, and ClarkLois hint (Tom Welling _is_ that hot lol)

_Setting:_ Four years after KH2 which now I know takes place at least a few months after CoM which is directly after KH1 so to be specific approx. Four and a half years after KH1. And if you can understand my ramblings, you get a cookie. Aren't I so nice?

_Disclaimer:_ To the tune of 'I'll Cover You' from RENT, "I think they meant it when they said you can't Own Kingdom Hearts 2 and Smallville, now I know you can rent the characters and plots for free a new lease you are my fanfics and chapters." Yeah, their owned by Square-Enix and Buena Vista and TRP (I think and I don't really remember who else owns Smallville) Also the nickname "Golden Trio" belongs to J.K Rowling, for the term given to Ron, Harry and Hermione in Harry Potter series.

And, also btw, the title "Bohemian Rhapsody" belongs to one of the greatest groups ever, Queen.

I do, however own my characters as each of them are based on my different personalities (I'm kidding!) but are based on people in real life (have nothing to do with the names of them, though, T!).

_Random Author Note:_ Go see Superman returns. I SWEAR IT IS THE MOST FREAKIN SWEET MOVIE OUT BESIDES PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN 2! (But I must warn you: In my opinion, the regular one is better than the 3D one on _so _many reasons)

_Chapter 2 Summary_: Sarah and co. run into Smallville's hero, the one and only Clark Kent. Chaos can only ensue.

_Chapter 2 Warnings: _Minor swearing, violence (this is based on a video game, after all), and an experimental Xover. If it sucks, be sure to tell me, okay? Also, I put this chapter together as fast as I could.

Also, as you can kinda tell from my A/Ns, I'm moreso in a Doctor Who mode at the moment, and since Smallville had its season finale already, I'm starting to kinda mode away from that if that makes any sense. But hopefully it'll be okay. I'll stop making excuses for my crappy writing now. :D

One more thing: I made the PHS come with free text messaging :D enjoy.

Also, another warning, that if you haven't been keeping up with Smallville either or just been trying to and are like still behind, then I suggest you just go to the next chapter because there will be MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS CHAPTER UNTIL THE SEASON FINALE.

Got it memorized?

* * *

**Chapter 3: Bohemian Rhapsody**

The Gummi flight was longer than normal. Well, than the last one, that is. Seth really didn't know how long these trips would normally be.

He wandered from the SOF for a few minutes. It was kinda boring just watching the blip that represented the Gummi moving _so_ slowly toward the bigger blip. Just watching, waiting for nothing to happen.

He removed the headphones that he wore that picked up the Gummi pilot-ground control jargon and placed them on the ledge that surrounded the SOF. Ash was talking to some guy in the next world, some guy called JorEl or something like that.

He walked into the hallway, the one where everyone's rooms were, and immediately heard alternative rock music blasting. He didn't really care for rock music, although he knew that was a number of people's favorite music, but rather liked Pop music, mainly because of Thea, but he always liked Rap and Hip-Hop music a lot. Seth shared a room with Astra, Ian and Squall paired up, and Thea and Sarah. Ash had a room, but mostly camped out in the bridge, having only his weapons and first aid kit with, his other stuff in his room.

Astra wasn't in their room, and Seth was sort of glad. He listened to what Thea was always saying about second hand smoke and lung cancer and it kind of scared him a little, almost to the point of quitting himself. But not as much as what Astra would ever do to him if he tried to get rid of her cigarette packs.

Maybe Thea would be in her room and they'd go for a walk or talk or something. Maybe he'd learn something about her past.

No one really knew much about Thea's past before she had come to Traverse Town seven years ago, when Ian and Sarah were eleven, before Seth and Astra and Squall came to Traverse Town. Thea rarely talked to Sarah and Ian about it, and if someone asked, she just replied that she worked as a maid.

No, Thea wasn't in her room, and neither was Sarah. Maybe everyone was training. Squall and Ian weren't even in their room. He walked to where the music was coming from, expecting it to be the training room or something, but instead it was coming from the "Common" the place where all the video games were, the room that wasn't anybody's room.

And there were only two people, Ian and Astra, sitting on the couch, making outto Dirty Little Secret by the All-American Rejects.Seth hoped they didn't see him and backed against a wall, listening.

A million thoughts filled his mind as he felt adrenaline and anger coursing through his veins.

_KillhimKillhimKillhimKillhimKillhim Best friend!_

That last one he heard. Ian was his best friend, and so that was a reason not to kill him. He looked back at the two, and saw Astra getting up, going to leave. Seth walked back a few steps to act like he was just coming down the hall.

If anyone were to know Astra, really know her, than they would know that whenever she played with her ponytail, she was happy. And that's what she was doing right now. She walked past Seth, who acted natural.

"Hey," Seth called to Astra, who was walking down the hall. Astra turned around, and Seth continued. "Ash said in about a half hour that one of us are needed, so…?"

"I can't. Got training with the princess," Astra replied, and by that she meant Thea because of the way Seth treated her.

"Oh, okay," Seth told her, and watched her go into her room. He walked into the Common, and found Ian playing a Gameboy. As much as he was going to be a best friend, he didn't really have to be _completely _nice about it.

"Hey," Ian said, when he looked up for a split second and saw Seth. "You wanna change the station or something, go ahead."

"Ian, you sly dog, you," Seth said, using a line he'd only heard in movies. Ian tensed up. "When did you two get together?"

Ian paled. Seth was having so much fun right now. "I-I…you saw?" Ian said, his voice raised about an octave.

Seth nodded, trying to keep a straight face. "Yeah, and you know, that _is_ my sister. And I do have two loaded pistols with me."

Ian looked really scared. "S-Seth, we're friends, right?"

"Yeah," Seth said, as he twirled the pistols on his finger and put them back in the holster. "That's why I'm not using them right now."

Ian looked relieved, and Seth grinned. "Had ya going, didn't I?"

"So, it's okay, then, right?" Ian asked.

"I'm her brother, not her keeper. I don't care. But ya know, the talk?" Seth said, casually getting out the 9mm pistols again. "Cause if you do do anything to her, BAM!" He pretended to fire them. Ian gulped.

Seth put the pistols back and turned to Ian, grinning. "So, what games do you got on there?"

& - & - & - & -

About twenty minutes of playing video games, Seth got sort of bored and headed back to the SOF early to see if he could help Ash.

The entire bridge was empty, and Seth picked up the headphones, and immediately took them off as a reaction to the loud and weird noises that they emitted. They were very loud clicking noises, but not just random ones. Seth could tell there was a pattern, a language, and at least three different tones, three different voices.

He looked over at the pilot's seat, where Ash was. Certainly Ash could hear that, right? How come he didn't alert someone (or everyone) that there was something strange going on and possibly dangerous? He walked over, uncertain.

He noticed the Pilot headphones resting on the ledge that connected the Pilot seat to the co-pilot. (A/N: think FFX-2 Celsius)

"Ash?" asked Seth. The man didn't look up, but merely grunted to show he was listening. "What-do you-what's going on with the headphones?"

He chuckled, once, which was his equivalent to sarcasm, especially when it came to them asking about something. "Nobodies. They've been communicating for over ten minutes. They also jammed our communication to the next world. And, only Nobodies can understand and speak the language. And we don't have the technology to get our communications back up. So what's the point?"

Seth nodded, though Ash couldn't see. In the window, he could see a world in the distance, one that had a huge building that took up at least an eighth of the planet, if not more.

"Get to the Sphere-oscillo-Finder," Ash said, and Seth did what he was supposed to. He went to the PA speakers and turned it on.

"Everyone, we are now landing at our next stop in approximately 20 minutes. I suggest you people hang on to something, cause this is gonna be one bumpy landing."

Astra and Thea arrived in the bridge shortly, tired and breathless from training. Squall came in shortly, looking calm as always, followed by Ian and Sarah.

The world had everything on it. The huge building was a mansion, and the rest were tall buildings, skyscrapers to farms and fields.

Sarah was examining a PHS. She had the other one in her right hand.

"Seth. Astra, and Squall," Sarah said. "You guys take one side of the world. See what you can find there. If you guys wanna switch, feel free but _call_ _first._ If there's people around, I think that someone popping out of a phone is going to blow our cover, k? And this is just for this world. I'm going to pick our teams depending on our relationships, effort, and who suits the worlds. Got it? Ash, you wanna come with us?"

"I have…other matters to attend to." Ash replied, as they hit atmo. The ship rocked and quaked, and everyone held on to something. Seth grabbed on to the SOF ledge.

It kept doing this for about ten minutes until the ship finally hit something.

They were here.

* * *

So they left the ship, and went their separate ways. They'd landed in a cornfield. And it was stupid that Sarah let Ian go in front of her. If another person were in front of Sarah, it would be all right, but Ian _deliberately_ made the cornstalks whack her in the face all the time. It got very annoying. 

A few minutes of trudging through the cornfields and they spotted their first Heartless. A flying one, with a red cape on its back and a red H on its stomach. They chased it through the cornfields, and the whacking in the face with the cornstalks only got worse. They finally got out of the cornfields and arrived in a town, a small one. Nobody was around, except for Heartless. Heartless everywhere.

The flying ones seemed the worst, burning things by looking at it, not to mention the super strength and flying ability. But the team took care of the Neo Shadows first, anyway, because they were easy to kill and did damage.

Sarah tried to throw her Keyblade like a Frisbee at first, but that didn't work. The flying ones quickly dodged those attacks.

"Sarah!" called Ian. He had his hands out together, and was on one knee. She knew what that meant.

She ran toward him and jumped on his hands, and he lifted her as she kicked off, letting her do a sort of somersault in the air and all the while use her Keyblade to kill the flying Heartless. As she was in the air, she saw other Heartless explode that she hadn't even touched. She landed back on the ground, although her ankles hurt from the impact, and saw that they were all gone, all the Heartless. And that she was face to face with a boy.

He was a good-looking kid, about her age if not slightly older, with black curly hair, and chocolate brown eyes. He was athletic, with a strong muscular build and stood about a head taller than Sarah. He was cute. (AH: drools)

Too bad he was the bad guy. He was the only one out here, besides Sarah's team, and the Heartless, were sorta leaving him alone, which meant he wasn't helping her.

She glared at him, and charged. He avoided Sarah easily, and charged at her, faster than _anyone _would've anticipated, and she literally got the wind knocked out of her, and she went flying back, onto the road, landing on her back.

"Wait!" called Thea, running toward them. She put herself between Sarah and the boy, holding her staff loosely at her side.

"Are you okay?" she asked Sarah, turning her head toward Sarah only slightly.

"Yeah," Sarah said, still a little out of breath. Ian and a blond girl also about their age ran up to them.

"She says he's a good guy," said Ian.

"You're not one of them, right?" asked the blond.

"No," answered Thea. "Actually, we fight them."

"Fight them? Where are you guys from?" asked the blond.

"Well, a little of here, a little of there," Thea said, but then stopped. "Wait a minute. Clark? Clark Kent?"

"How do you know me?" asked the boy, Clark.

"And Chloe Sullivan?" she asked. "It's me, Thea? Remember a few years ago? I came with this other guy. I was sort of a meteor freak, remember? Earth—" She conjured a green fire that wasn't quite a fire. "Wind—" the green color turned to a white one. "And Fire—" it was just a regular fireball.

Sarah knew this wasn't anything particularly special about Thea, but to these people it was.

"Yeah," Chloe said, remembering. "You were blamed for arson, and we helped bail you out, right?"

"Yeah. And as soon as LutherCorp found out about me, they kidnapped me and tried brainwashing." Thea said bitterly. "Good thing you guys showed up." She turned to Sarah and Ian.

"Well, where are my manners? These are my friends, Sarah and Ian. Ian, Sarah, meet Chloe and Clark."

"So, what were those things?" asked Chloe. "Do you guys know?"

"We've been tracking them for a while, actually," Sarah said, jumping in. "They're called Heartless. They attack people and literally eat your heart out. They've been spreading a lot lately."

"So," started Thea. "Wait a minute. There were some other kids helping me, weren't there? Clark, that kid that was always with you—Pete, right? And of course, Miss Lana Lang, who I became pretty good friends with. What's happened to them?"

"Pete's left," Clark said. "And Lana… she's with Lex."

"Lex Luther? You're kidding!" Thea exclaimed. "I remember him. Bald kid, huh? Daddy was head of LutherCorp, kidnapping me and experimenting on me, that bas—"

"That's him," Clark said. "Only now _he's_ head of LutherCorp."

"So, Thea. What happened after you left Smallville?" asked Chloe. "Solve anymore crimes?"

"Well, about a year ago after that incident, I moved to a small town called Traverse Town, and I met up with these guys. They were really nice to me. Sort of gave me a new home."

Sarah smiled. "So, Clark, Chloe. You seem very…investigative. Do you know why these Heartless things are here?"

"Actually," Chloe started, "we were just about to check it out. We found out that almost fifteen people have seen them come out from these caves a few miles out of here. I thought we'd check it out."

"Sounds good," Sarah said. "Mind if we tag along? It'd be less likely one of us would get hurt if there's more people around."

"Sure," Chloe said, but she and Clark exchanged worried glances.

& - & - & - & -

The ride wasn't that long, although neither Sarah or Ian had ever ridden in a car before. It wouldn't have been so bad, if the road wasn't so bumpy. Clark kept looking back on the two, and Thea just told them that they were getting over a cold and they still had terrible headaches.

As the truck was heading a dirt road with cornfields on either side that seemed to go on _forever,_ a huge thing crashed on the road about a hundred yards in front of them. The entire truck went skidding, and the explosion sent the truck flying up in the air, landing hard upside down.

The impact of the crash made Sarah's head bang against the seat in front of her, which hurt a lot. She was going to have a bad headache in the morning.

The truck would explode in a matter of seconds. Clark reacted quickly, getting out of his side, and rushing over to Chloe's side, opening the door and getting her out. Had it been a trick of the light, or had Sarah seen him tear off the door of the truck?

She saw there was a space to get out of the driver's seat (it was a 2-door). She looked back quickly and saw that there was nobody still in the backseat. She got out quickly, and joined the others.

"Everyone okay?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah," said Thea. "What was that?"

But Sarah wasn't really paying attention. She had done a head count, and they were missing someone. "Where's Ian?"

She looked back and saw that the truck's belly was on fire, which meant there wasn't much time. Sarah got in the way she came, and saw Ian was lying on the floor of the backseat, conscious, but his leg jammed under the front seats.

"Ian!" she called, worried for him. She used the Keyblade to get his leg out of underneath the seat, and it came out, though tore up and bloody. She turned her head back, toward the door. She didn't have to shout it. She just thought _wind_ and the whole area in the backseat where there should've been a door had it been a 4 door when flying off.

But it was too late. The truck exploded with a _poof_. Not like the loud _bang!_ like in the movies, but just a quiet _poof._ But there was fire everywhere. Thea screamed loudly for her friends, and even attempted to run into the fire for them, but Clark held her back. As the fire started dying away, there was a spiral of air, like a mini tornado, with Ian and Sarah in the center. Ian was holding Sarah in his arms, Sarah unconscious. He looked a little nervous about the Aero spell, or maybe it could've been because he was nervous about if Sarah was all right.

He took a step forward, and the Aero spell walked with him, pushing the fire away from them. He came toward Clark, Chloe, and Thea, the Aero spell going away, and laid Sarah down.

"What happened?" asked Thea, sort of pushing Clark and Chloe away. It'd be better if they didn't know about their true origins yet.

"I-I don't know," Ian stuttered, his voice cracking often. He was definitely nervous about Sarah's well-being. "I mean, one minute she was fine, ya know, she got me out of the truck and all, and then the truck just exploded an-and the fire, an-and the-the smoke, and—"

"Ian!" Thea shouted, in her authoritative voice. Ian stopped talking. "Calm down. What happened?"

"Her eyes—they just…glowed. I mean, I don't know how to explain it, they just did. And she was talking all weird and stuff like in third person, and then the Aero spell and—I've never seen anything so powerful, Thea, even from you. And then she just collapsed."

"What did she say?" asked Thea, and saw Clark and Chloe trying to help Sarah. She didn't really mind if they overheard them, really, anymore.

"Sh-she said, 'Her soul is his. And said something about Zod is coming. That was it."

And Clark and Chloe turned pale with fear, and looked like they just saw a ghost.

* * *

They were back at the Kent farm, now, all of them. As soon as they entered, Mrs. Kent seemed upset, but not because there were strangers in the house. In fact, she acted very kindly toward Thea and Ian. Mrs. Kent was upset because of Sarah's poor condition, and fixed up a nice, comfortable spot on the couch for Sarah before getting some hot tea ready. 

Any traces of sarcasm or humor were gone from Ian's face. He had gone back into that overprotective best friend mode, where nothing was more important than the well-being of his friends.

"What was that thing?" asked Chloe.

"It looked like a meteor," answered Clark.

Thea looked directly at Ian, a thought occurring to her at Clark's reply. "Do you think it might've been Meteor Materia? Meant for her?"

Ian looked down at Sarah, a heavy shadow crossed his face. He nodded slowly. "Probably the Organization's doing." He paused for a second, thinking. "But not even the Organization would go that low. It'd be too…easy."

"Don't overestimate them," Thea warned. "The Organization has been wiped out by a single Keyblade Master younger than you. They're desperate now, and will do anything to destroy all of the Keyblade Masters, no matter how low it may be."

Sarah started to stir and Ian was by her side once more. She opened her eyelids heavily, and looked at him.

"Ian?" she murmured, her voice shaky and full of pain. She sounded drowsy, and her eyes were eerily empty.

"Come on, now," Ian said, trying to sound calm. "Stop trying to scare us to death. I'm here—we're all here—about to have a heart attack."

She smiled at him faintly, seeming to pass out again soon. "Ian…?" she called out, her voice slurred. He took her hand, which was resting on her stomach.

"Yeah," his voice cracked. He was worried. Surely Sarah could pull through something like a little draining of Magic Power?

"What is it, sweetie?" asked Thea, her tone of voice like how she would talk to a child. She knelt next to Ian.

"Don't hate me…when…I wake up…" Sarah mumbled as she started drifting back into unconsciousness.

"What do you mean?" Ian asked, his voice with an edge to try to help keep her awake.

"She's…she's coming," Sarah mumbled, looking like she was struggling to stay awake. Then, all of a sudden, her eyes snapped open, but they were void of any feeling, just empty and gray as if in a trance. She sat up abruptly, and focused her eyes on Clark.

"Clark...she's here," Sarah whispered.

"Zod?" asked Clark.

"Worse," Sarah said, and fell unconscious in a split second. Her head slumped back loosely on her neck bone, and she started to fall hard backward. Ian caught her, putting a hand on her back and laid her down gently.

Thea reached for her and brushed a hair behind Sarah's ear. Tears welled up in her eyes, because not once had anything happened like that. And when Sarah's head slumped backward like that, it disturbed her.

Ian saw Thea was bothered by this and hugged her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder in a brotherly act. Thea composed herself once more, and stood up.

"Clark?" she asked, facing the brunette boy. "She was looking at you when she said 'She's here.' And who's this Zod?"

"First," Chloe interjected, becoming suddenly protective of Clark. "_You _tell us what's going on. Who are you guys, really? Was Sarah affected by the meteor like you were, or what?"

Thea sighed, and looked to Ian for help, but Ian just shrugged.

"My ability to conjure fireballs and elements isn't due to the meteor crash. It was just a cover story my boss had invented when we landed here. It's just I'm a mage, race of people that are in touch with the elements around them, a true magician. I traveled around with him for while, but then, I met these guys. We protects other people from Heartless. Believe me, they're not just on Earth. And this bad group of people called the Organization are out to kill us. And right now, Sarah's the only one that can stop them."

"Landed?" asked Chloe incredulously.

"What do you mean, they're not just on Earth?" Clark asked.

"Traverse Town—where we're from—is another world. Our mission is to visit other worlds, fight the Heartless and destroy the paths on which they travel. Look—you guys don't have to believe me."

Clark swallowed. "I believe you."

Thea stepped up to him, and looked straight at him. "Why?"

"I-I'm from another world, too. Krypton. It was destroyed a long time ago."

"And…you are the only survivor you know of?" asked Thea.

"Yes," replied Clark, breaking the gaze.

Mrs. Kent came out of the kitchen, with a tea kettle in one hand and coffee cups and saucers in the other, and set them down on the coffee table.

"Is she doing any better?" asked Mrs. Kent.

"She woke up for a minute, but went out again," Thea said. "Do you mind if we keep her here for tonight? I mean, if not we could go to a Hotel or something."

"I don't mind you staying here at all," Mrs. Kent told them. "Please, make yourselves at home. I'll fix you some blankets and pillows, okay?'

"Thank you, Mrs. Kent." Thea smiled politely, but still looked a little shaken up.

"It's not a problem," Mrs. Kent replied, and left the room to continue fixing dinner.

A short pause fell over the room.

"So…who's Zod now?" asked Ian.

"A real bad Bad Guy," replied Chloe.

"He was a dictator of Krypton, and wanted nothing more than to have control over the people. In the end, he was responsible for Krypton's destruction. He was banished to another dimension, until I met a follower of Zod, who was posing as my college professor. If he's brought back, he'll stop at nothing to destroy the entire human race. In this world and others."

Thea's eyes narrowed, and she looked at Ian. "Sounds like the perfect candidate for a Heartless."

"Yeah," Ian said.

"How would we find him?" Thea asked Clark.

"I don't know. I don't know what he looks like or anything," he replied. "I think _she_ might know, though."

He looked over at Sarah. "I think we should get some sleep, then. She'll be awake by morning."

And with that, they got ready for bed for the night, and Chloe even stayed over.

* * *

The entire house was pitch black, with the exception of the lights on the digital clock resting on the coffee table, plus a few magical candles that Thea had lit. Mrs. Kent was worried about leaving them burning overnight, but Thea assured her that these were the type that didn't burn anything except the wicker. If they were to be knocked over, the flame would just go out. 

Ian had woken up in the middle of the night. Well, not quite, really; he hadn't gotten much sleep all night, really. It was funny, really, that the time that Sarah had had the flu, he had slept fine that week. But this was different, something was different and he knew it.

He laid awake in the bundle of blankets that made his temporary bed, listening to the heavy breathing of Thea, Sarah and Chloe. The four had the four corners of the living room, Chloe on the reclining chair after Ian had insisted, Thea just past the far end of the coffee table, and Ian right between the couch and the coffee table, so he could keep an eye on Sarah.

She didn't open her eyes at all, but was mumbling some random things, some either in a different language or just gibberish, but they were all incoherent words.

It was daybreak before long. Thea and Chloe were up in no time, and Mrs. Kent had come out of her room, and Clark out of his. And, a few hours later, after breakfast and all, Sarah had woken up, finally.

Not like she had before; not weakly or anything. Her eyes just snapped open and she just blinked. Like waking up from sleeping. She looked around the room, looking perfectly fine. Ian and Thea were there at a moment's notice.

"Hi," Sarah said. There was no pain or drowsiness in her voice like before.

Thea and Ian smiled in relief.

"Hey," Ian smiled.

"Feeling any better?" asked Thea.

"Yeah, fine. Thanks, Ian…and Thea," Her tone was different; more like she was making sure she got the names right.

"Yeah…" Ian replied, narrowing his eyes. So he noticed it, too, then. "Yeah, anytime."

Sarah looked around the house, at the living room, her eyes scanning over the room.

"Are we still in Smallville, then?" she asked, looking back at the two.

"Yeah," Thea answered. Chloe and Clark entered the room.

"We were gonna go to Metropo—" Chloe started, but stopped when she saw Sarah awake. "Oh. Are you okay?"

"Peachy keen," Sarah remarked sarcastically, but smiled. "Yeah, fine. Chloe, right?" And her eyes narrowed at Clark. "And Clark?"

"Sarah," Clark started. "What exactly happened to you? Do you remember anything after the truck exploded?"

She closed her eyes as if trying to remember. She opened them, a look on her face. One of panic.

"Call it a vision or whatever—I saw it. So much darkness, so much power. I saw him killing so many people—an-and the Heartless. It was so bad. He killed everyone—and didn't feel one bit of guilt. Zod. That was his name."

Her eyes flicked back to Clark's, locking in a look of mutual understanding, determination and irrational courage.

"We have to stop him," she said with finality.

"Where?" asked Clark, their gaze still held, and not wavering the slightest. "Where is he?

At this, Sarah need only say two words.

"The town."

* * *

Had it been any normal ride, Ian and Sarah probably would have gotten sick like they did before. But because they were determined, and the adrenaline rush, they ignored the motion sickness. 

And the Trio explained more about their origins, and about the Keyblade and the Heartless and the Organization and the Nobodies as best as they could, and about how Zod and his Heartless would be worse than just one. And Chloe and Clark explained more about Zod, the story of how Clark almost "met" him, and about how he would probably be vulnerable to Kryptonite.

They drove into town, the Trio plus Clark and Chloe getting out, to see how bad it was.

But there were no Heartless in sight. Nothing. No people, no Heartless, no Nobodies, no Zod. Thea's heart sank. She had a bad feeling about this.

Sarah looked around, her expression unreadable. She looked as if she were searching for something. And then she jerked forward, doubling over and clutching her head as if in pain. The others rushed to her, Ian putting a hand on her back to steady her.

"You okay?" he asked.

She didn't respond, but merely stood up straight, her face even more unreadable but with a different shadow across it.

"I'm _per_fectly fine," she said, with a different accent (A/N: sort of like a British one but not quite). Her tone was completely different and evil. Her pupil expanded where it took up her entire eye.

Everyone looked surprised and horrified. "Sarah" rolled her eyes.

"What, you didn't see that coming?" She gave that sort of "come on, get it already!" look, rolling her eyes once more. "God, I knew you humans were _stupid_, but come on!"

"Zod?" Clark asked cautiously, his eyes narrowing.

"Sarah" threw her head back and laughed. "Please. That stupid man couldn't do _this—_" and she gestured at her herself "—without my help. Zod, is…ah, what you would call the scapegoat. The muscle, more or less. Yes, it was him that killed others, and carried out the elaborate and genius plans—yet it was me who came up with them. I knew who was valuable and who wasn't. And that _JorEl_," she spat, and then looked up at Clark. "I was glad to have been the one to sacrifice Krypton—once my race was ready to depart. And your father had to mess things up."

"Why didn't you just do those things yourself?" asked Clark, challengingly. "Why let Zod take all the glory?"

"My dear, Kalel, my body was _much_ too old to do those things. But Zod hated your father as much as I did, and with our army, we'd rise up and kill both him and his government. Of course, there were benefits to destroying that God-forsaken planet, as well. Let's just say the pieces were very _accommodating_. As will this planet." Thea gasped. "Oh, dear, I do believe I'm rambling too much."

"What?" asked Ian, knowing full well that Thea was much more smarter and caught on quicker. "What does she mean?"

"She's going to build a Gummi Ship," Thea said.

"And that's not all I'm going to do, girl." "Sarah" said, and raised her hands in the air, and threw her head back. Her eyes glowed, and about a hundred Heartless surrounded them, in a giant circle. The Heartless didn't attack, but rather stayed there, holding the circle around them. Sarah lowered her head, an evil and triumphant on her face.

"Isn't it wonderful?" she said. "I've learned to master controlling the Heartless. With my army, I'll be invincible. Of course, none of you will be around to see it happen. I will take over that castle, and I will have control of both the Heartless and the Nobodies. There will be a queen of the universe, and," she threw a meaningful glance at Clark. "A king."

"I won't join you!" Clark shouted back at her. She smiled.

"I didn't expect you to," said "Sarah." "But I'm pretty sure I know someone who would _love_ that body."

And with that, she threw her head back once more, and raised both her arms in the air, a sort of lightning going from her fingertips.

"Water!" shouted Thea, and a water spell hit "Sarah" hard, the lightning stopping.

"Get them!" shouted Sarah, and the Heartless started to come in, ready to attack. Ian turned to Thea.

"Can you work on a spell to get her out?" asked Ian.

Thea nodded. "I can, but I'm going to need you to hold them off for a while. Do you have the PHS?"

"Sarah has it," Ian said, and then turned to Clark. "Can you guys help?"

"I can't fight," Chloe said. "I'll stay close to Thea."

Clark merely looked at the Heartless, and they burst into flames, but more kept coming. Ian fended off as many as he could as he tried keeping them away from Thea and Chloe. Thea muttered something in another language that countered what the thing inside Sarah was muttering.

Clark saw a Heartless about to attack Thea and Chloe with a fire-attack, and ran as fast as he could (which was really fast) behind them, and shielded them from the attack, the fire hitting him but he couldn't feel it.

"Now that's awesome," Ian exclaimed as he sliced a Heartless and killed it.

Thea started to get really into her spell, and her eyes started glowing different colors. A burst of wind close to an Aero spell around Sarah. Clouds formed the sky, dark ones. A small red spark that didn't really match that started up around her. Probably Thea's spell.

A small red fireball that was too red to be fire and didn't really look like one anyway except the shape formed in Thea's hand as she continued chanting, and the dark clouds in the sky started to swirl in a dark pool. Then, in one swift motion, a lightning bolt came down on Clark as he was fighting them. Clark looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"Thea! Barrier now!" Ian shouted to her as he ran through the swarm of Heartless. Not for him, he meant, but for herself and Chloe.

He rushed to Sarah and tackled her to the ground. She got up as he was still down, looking mad, but smiled.

"No worry. I don't need to say anymore of it. You, on the other hand, annoy me." And with that, she kicked him hard in the ribs. He rolled over, in pain. She held out her hand for the Keyblade, but it didn't come to her.

"No worry," she started searching her pant leg, and as Ian started to get up, she sent a lightning energy ball at him, which coursed through his entire body, and paralyzed him.

She reached in her boot and pulled out a small dagger, and held it up in her left hand ready to bring it down. Ian, though still in pain, kicked her in the back of her knees and brought her down kneeling, and then kicked the dagger out of her hand, sending it flying in the crowd of Heartless.

"Thea! Hurry up with it!" shouted Ian.

"Oh, you are going to pay for that, boy!" Sarah screamed, and sent energy ball after energy ball at him, each hitting him with a different element and each equally painful. She didn't want to torture him any more. Just kill him. After about six, he stopped groaning in pain, and at that same time Thea stood up as soon as a funnel cloud went down from the dark pool Sarah conjured up. Thea threw the red fireball that was a fireball at Sarah, hitting her square in the back and sent her flying on the ground. The lightning stopped, and Clark fell down, badly hurt. The Heartless where still there, though small in numbers.

"Holy!" shouted Thea, and a powerful Holy spell hit the Heartless, destroying them in a single burst of white light. And all was once more peaceful.

Thea rushed to Sarah, kneeling down. Truth be told, she had never done a spell so powerful, and didn't know if it would actually work. Sarah (or hopefully it was Sarah) rolled over in pain, and shock, and sighed, looking at Thea.

"Are you…you?" asked Thea.

"Yeah," Sarah answered. "I-I'm so sorry."

"Relax, girl, it's not your fault," Thea forgave her. Thea could never hold a grudge.

"And…oh, my god!" she exclaimed, and even though she was in pain, Sarah got up and ran over to Ian, skidding on her knees hard by him. He looked badly burned. She felt his neck for a pulse.

"Ian! Ian!" she shook him. She focused on him, putting her hands over his heart. She thought of the strongest Cure spell she could use, and even though the white aura surrounded him, he still didn't wake up.

"Thea! Get over here!" she called. Thea came to her side, kneeling as well, and Sarah grabbed her hand.

"Help me. Heal him," Sarah said, crying. Thea put her hand along with Sarah's over his heart as Sarah had done, and a very big white aura surrounded him for a long time.

But nothing happened.

"Ian…" Sarah cried. She had witnessed herself killing her best friend. She sat in a cross-legged style, her back turned to him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ian called. Sarah looked back and saw him sitting up. She threw her arms around his neck, her momentum bringing them backward.

"Ow!" Ian called. "Hey, Sarah, you're okay!"

"Don't you ever do that again, you stupid samurai!" Sarah exclaimed, getting up, and helping him up. Then, in a much more serious tone, she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. It wasn't your fault, you know." Ian knew she didn't mean if he was physically okay; rather, if they were okay.

She sort of gave a half smile, she knew he forgave her, but it still didn't seem like enough.

A small swirl of dark cloud was still in the sky. Sarah knew what to do, and standing up, she called for the Keyblade. She held it up, and a beam shot up from the Keyblade and into the sky, locking the world.

She turned toward Clark and Chloe. "I think…your world is safe. But we can still come and visit again."

"That'd be nice," Clark smiled, as did Chloe.

"As for us," Sarah said, looking up the heavens. "I think it's time we'd better get going. Worlds to save. Trouble to make. The usual."

She dialed her PHS, and text a message to the others to head back to the Gummi Ship. She and the others thanked Clark and Chloe for the hospitality, and headed out back into the cornfields.

& - & - & - & -

On board the Gummi Ship, Sarah was in her room, taking out all the daggers out of her various places. The Keyblade would be enough, she figured.

She was looking at the different photographs in her bag which she had packed, one of her and the team, and Ash. A happy one, when they had been awarded for solving a few cases which the police couldn't even solve. Ian, Sarah and Thea were in center, Ian with an arm around each one's shoulder, in a mock-flirtatious way, and Thea and Sarah each gave him bunny ears. Seth was on Thea's other side, holding her hand and smiling like a psycho like he could. On Sarah's other side was Astra, smoke-free, her hair down and blowing a kiss to the camera. Squall was on Seth's other side, arms crossed and leaning sort of sideways, looking cool but for once being a clown, too. And Ash was in the back, and rolled his eyes. It was just a happy picture.

The Gummi Ship jerked forward all of a sudden, and Sarah stuffed the picture in her pocket before she was tossed from the bed and into the wall hard. She stood up despite the heavy rocking, but was forced back down.

"Everybody hold on tight to something!" yelled Seth through the intercom. "We're heading for a crash landing!"

* * *

A/N: Bad, good? So horrendous that you never wanna read another of my fanfics? Any reviews I will gladly take, so press that purple little button there okay? Anyway. Just one more chapter till my Doctor Who one! (which if I'm still in that mode, it'll be awesome. Read my upcoming DW fic series called DWD—Doc without Doomsday. Rose comes back in alternate Season 2 finales! My first one will be called _The Ego, The Id, and The Idiot._ Very good. So get reading, and if you haven't seen any of Season 2, then just go to they have Doomsday, Army of Ghosts, Girl In the Fireplace, Idiots Lantern and Fear her. Also, go to in videos type in Doctor Who. There'll be this one guy Charlie or something that has all the vids of Season 2 episodes 1-6 I believe and even Christmas Invasion! (Yeah, I'm obsessed. Read my profile.) 

**Next on KH3: Unwanted Rebirth:**

**Supernatural. And Sarah goes on a date? Read on to find out. I promise that if school doesn't get in the way which it probably will then this next chapter won't take as long to write as this one did. (Sorry bout that by the way. Anyway.)**


	4. Mirror, Mirror On the Wall

_Xover:_ Supernatural. You don't really have to watch that show to understand it. Just basically its about two brothers that hunt supernatural stuff.

_Ship: _(guess and you get a cookie)OCSarahOC(guess and you get a cookie), SxK for later chapters, uh... let's see...DeanSarah (okay. I know, you're saying _huh?_ Well, see I based Sarah on me, and so it's only fair that she gets to live out my dreams and go out (or meet) the major hotties of the T.V networks, right? Such as Tom Welling (Clark Kent, _Smallville_), Jared Padalecki (Sam, _Supernatural_), Jensen Ackles (Dean_, Supernatural_), David Tennant (The Doctor_, Doctor Who_), and more. Anyway.

_Setting_: Four years after KH2 blah blah blah. In Supernatural, it takes place during 'Bloody Mary' like instead of Bloody Mary, it's this chapter. Got it?

_Random Author Note:_ Yo tengo un gato en mis pantalones!

_Chapter 4 Warnings: _Minor swearing, violence, drinking, and this experimental Xover might suck this time, just probably not as bad as my Smallville one (sorry Max, but it did!)

Anyway. Hope you like it!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Mirror, Mirror on The Wall...**

**Who's the Ugliest Heartless of Them All?**

"Really," started Sarah, slightly agitated. "We didn't _see_ anything. We got there _after _it happened. There wasn't anything we could do."

It was a day after the Gummi ship had crashed. They had managed to bring in their stuff into an escape pod just in time, the Gummi exploding into little chunks as the Nobody ships fired on it. They'd made it to the ground safely, the escape pod dissapearing as soon as they got out.

And, now, there was no way out. The town, a small town called Park Forest with a population of about 200 people maximum, didn't look like it had been touched by the Heartless. It was peaceful. Too peaceful. They had no ship, almost no munny, and no idea how to get off this rock.

That was, until _it_ had happened. They were sitting in the restaurant, the team (all except Ash, he was still trying to contact somebody that was supposed to be around here) when a girl came in, Bunny, a kid of 18, screaming with blood on her shirt. Her sister's heart had been taken. Nobody saw it, the girl had supposedly been in the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror when it happened.

The team had raced to the sight, and in the mirror, there was a small smudge. A Heartless' dark materia.

The girl was dead. It wasn't the way of the Heartless, as Thea put it, to kill for the heart. Usually it left the body behind, so it would become a Nobody. But this girl was beyond hope, with a big gaping wound in her chest, blood everywhere. Sarah knelt down to the girl's body, and closed her open eyes.

"I'm sorry," Sarah had said, and that was when the cops had arrived. They took Sarah and her team home (to the hotel they were staying at) and questioned them there. Two guys, Officer Dean and his partner Officer Sam something-or-other.

"Look," started Officer Dean, now. They were questioning Sarah alone first. It was funny, Sarah had this funny feeling that they weren't cops. "We're just trying to help. Where did you say you guys were from?"

"We're just visiting," Sarah replied, for about the second or third time. "My friends and I, we travel a lot."

She held up the slip of paper that Thea gave her, the one she 'bewitched' that read whatever the user told it to. And right now, Sarah concentrated on using that to show a college ID, one that said some kind of occupation that travelled, like a doctor, or something like that.

They must've bought it, too, becasue they seemed to relax a little. The one, officer Dean looked at the other with a 'great, now what?' expression.

"Sarah," started the other one, Sam. "Could you start from the beginning? I know we keep asking you, but its important that we get every detail."

Sarah sighed, remembering what Ian had told them to say. "Yeah, fine." she said. "Me and my friends are here. We've got a project that we're working on about five miles away. We know some people here, one of them being Christine--that was Bunny's sister--and she offered for us to come visit. I mean, just for a little while. We didn't really know Christine that well, just met her about a year ago, but we became fast friends. Anyway, by the time we got here, we had heard Bunny screaming about Christine, and when we got there..." she deliberately put a hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide. "I just...can't believe she's dead! Who would've done this to her?"

"Or what," she thought she heard officer Dean mumble this. She looked up at him, her eyes giving it away for a second if he'd only looked...what did he know? Did he know about the real culprit? And why was there that prickly feeling at the back of her neck she got when she was being lied to? But he didn't look. She looked back down.

It took her a few seconds to realize that there was a piece of white paper in front of her, too. She took it, looking at it. Ten numbers were scribled on there, with the writing: Dean Winchester. It took her a second to realize that it was a phone number. She looked up at them.

"Tell me anything. You see anything that doesn't look normal, anything, you contact us right away, all right?"

Sarah nodded. She guessed the act had worked. She tore a slip of paper from the phone number, as there was some empty space. She scribbled the number of the PHS phone (as it worked as a cell phone both here and in Smallville--was there a connection she didn't quite see about that?) and gave it to Dean.

"My cell," she explained. "And my friends' too. We all share one."

"Thanks," started Dean, as he and Sam turned to leave.

"What did you mean by 'not normal?'" Sarah asked, before she could stop himself. The two stopped, looking at each other before turning.

"Just," started Sam. "Anything suspiscious."

"Yeah," Dean said, teasingly but not mean. "What did you think we meant?"

"I-nothing," Sarah replied, and then smiled at them, as if to say 'I'm just a little freaked out, I guess.'

They smiled back, and then headed out the door. Sarah let out a breath she didn't she'd been holding.

"Well," she said to herself. "I _did_ say I wanted something exciting."

* * *

It was about an hour later. Everyone was in 'the girls' room'--the room that Sarah, Astra, and Thea had shared (Hotels were much more expensive here than back in Traverse Town. One room cost as much as 150 munny!) 

They had gotten into talking about what was going to happen. Sarah, who, strangely, was the only one questioned, lay on her back on the covers of the bed she'd been sleeping on. She had her right arm over her eyes, her left one hanging off the bed holding the Keyblade, her legs crossed but out.

Astra and Seth were on the other one, sitting at the edge, talking about how they might be able to reach Cid. Sarah tried listening, but it was too technical stuff. Last she knew, Ian was sitting in a chair near the small dresser, Thea on the floor meditating or something like that, and Squall was wandering around the room.

There was a knock on the door. Thinking it was the two officers again, everyone raced into a different position. Sarah sat up, knocking the Keyblade under the bed. She saw Ian, who was strangely sitting down against the dresser now, get up and move to the chair. Seth and Astra stopped talking, Thea continued to meditate, and Squall reached for the door.

It was Ash. Not the officers. His sunglasses (Sarah didn't realize it was already morning, 4 am, to be exact) reflecting the porch light that was outside the room. Everyone sighed simultaneously in relief. He walked in, looking at everyone like they were insane.

"So?" Sarah asked.

Ash had taken the other PHS with him, and after the whole fiasco with the officers, Sarah called him. His response was that they should try and find some sort of ship and find out what was happening so that they could make a safe getaway.

"I have...not yet found a ship," he replied.

She sighed. They had only explained a little of what happened. A girl was murdered, and the police of this world came to question them...and that was all that could be said over the phone.

"We think the Heartless or the Nobodies had something to do with it," she said finally. She told them about the girl and her missing heart, and the black smudge on the mirror.

"I do not know what could have caused it," replied Ash. "Never have I seen the Nobodies act this way. Usually, they would attack for the heart, but this is different."

A short pause filled the room.

"So," Seth started. "What now?"

"We wait," Thea replied, without opening her eyes or moving. She seemed in a trance. "We sleep for now. I'll try and see if I can pick up any evil energy."

Sarah smiled. To anyone else, it would sound weird. But to them, to anyone who knew Thea, it was normal.

She and the girls said goodnight to the guys, who left to their own room, and Sarah lay awake and eventually fell asleep.

* * *

It was the following day (well, evening, really) and the team was out at dinner again. They were walking there from the hotel to the restaurant (well, they didn't have munny for a car, and besides, after the trip in Smallville, Sarah was positive she never wanted to ride in one again) 

"So," Ian started, in a tone that obviously was a mischievous one. "Thea. I was wondering. How many of those…psychic paper things do you got?"

"Why?" asked an exasperated Thea. She had an idea where this was going.

"Well, I mean, since we're all here…I'd thought maybe we'd celebrate sealing two worlds already—"

"Ian, we're not using the psychic paper to go to a bar!" Thea scolded him.

Ian, with his mouth open to speak, closed it. Sarah stifled a laugh, grinning. Ian gave her a glare.

And it was then they heard screaming. Coming from the same house Christine had died in.

"Goddess," started Sarah. "Not again." She raced down the large hill that led to the residential area, where the police cars were going.

"We're _never _going to eat!" Ian said, throwing his hands in the air, and then followed the rest of the team.

By the time they reached there, the screaming had stopped. Sarah looked at Thea, who reached in her pocket and handed Sarah the psychic paper, and grabbed Ian and Squall by the arm. She also got Ash, leading them toward the house.

"You're Doctor Ash Hunter, a coroner. We're your assistants, Sarah Keller, Ian Wood, and Squall Leonhart," she said as if briefing them. "Ash, you take the psychic paper, alright? Just concentrate on being Dr Hunter, coroner. Alright?"

He grunted, taking the fake I.D. from her hand, and putting it in his pocket. But the police did not come, nor did anyone ask who they were.

They knocked on the screen door, and then rang the bell.

"Sir?" called Sarah. "Or ma'am? It's the police!" Silence. Sarah turned to the other two. "Alright," she said, at half whisper, "change of plan. We're cops. You're Sergeant Hunter, and we're Officer Keller, Officer Wood and Officer Leonhart."

She pounded on the door again. "Alright!" called Squall. "We're coming in!" He started to lift his leg as if to kick down the door, but Sarah stopped him.

"Turn the knob, first. I don't want to get sued," Sarah said. Squall turned the knob…and the lights were all out. Cautiously, they stepped inside.

"Sir?" called Sarah, at the same time Squall called "Ma'am?"

Sarah signalled for them to split up. She decided to go forward, taking out the Keyblade as she did. She saw Squall heading to the left, into another hallway, taking out his gunblade and Ian taking out his sword, and going to the right.

Going down the hall, Sarah saw one light on, in a distant room. She slowly walked toward it, and turned to see a white door, closed. She turned the knob…and saw nothing. A small bathroom, with the lights on dim (though in the dark house, they were bright) She saw it looked normal. A giant mirror, in front of the sink, a blue toilet, the shower/tub with the curtain closed. They must've cleaned up the blood.

She turned around…finding herself face-to-face with Ian. She jumped back, surprised. Ian laughed.

"I scared you," he said, in an almost-singsong tone.

"Ian, what are you doing in here?" Sarah asked, half-closing the door. There wasn't really enough room for both of them.

"Um…you dragged me in he—"

"No, I mean, what part of 'split up' do you not understand?" Sarah whispered.

"Well—"

She silenced him by putting her hand to his mouth. She turned her head toward the doorway.

The floorboards creaked with a silent footstep in the hallway.  
The door opened full-way…revealing two familiar guys, one in a red leather jacket, the other in a black jacket. No cop uniforms.

"Are we, uh, interrupting something?" Dean asked.

Sarah and Ian jumped, which wasn't very comfortable, seeing as how the bathroom was very, very tiny.

Sam grinned, as did Dean. Ian and Sarah quickly hid their weapons.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Dean.

"W-well, we could ask you the same question," Sarah said.

"Well," started Dean, "we're, uh—"

A shriek came from inside the house, somewhere. They raced out of the room and into the hallway. They ran down the hallway, toward the stairs where it seemed to be coming from, and ran into Squall.

"You heard that?" he asked.

"Sounded like it was coming from up there," Sarah replied, nodding toward upstairs.

They went up the stairs, slowly and in pairs. Dean and Sarah, Sam and Ian, and Squall behind. They reached another hallway, one splitting at the stairs with two doors to each side. Dean and Sarah went to the right, Sam, Ian and Squall to the left.

"So," Sarah started, looking at Dean out of the corner out her eye. "_Officer_ Dean. What brings you out here?"

"Oh, business as usual," Dean replied, without looking at her. She noticed something shiny in his hand.

"I wouldn't really call this _usual_," Sarah commented, rolling her eyes. A closer look at the thing. A gun.

The first door was locked. Dean got out a straight paper clip and started to pick the lock, when Sarah, an impatient one, just kicked down the door.

A big storage closet. Another shriek came from close by. They looked at each other, and hurried back into the hallway.

"So," started Dean. "Why would a doctor need to come back here at 7:00 at night?"

"Oh, well," started Sarah, "you know, get some clues. Those stupid cops always mess up the crime scene." She remembered the Traverse Town doctor always saying that.

"Right," Dean said, in a sarcastic tone. He picked the lock this time, opening the door halfway. "What was Christine's favorite color?"

"What?" asked Sarah, startled. "Uh, pink."

He opened the door all the way. Obviously a teenage girl's room. And anything but pink. Black walls, black furniture, black bed spread.

"You said you knew her for a year." Dean started. Sarah nodded. "And you never knew she was goth?"

"Well, uh—I mean, well, when we met, you know how some teens go through phases and stuff, and, uh—" yeah, Sarah was a bad liar. She sighed. "Look, if I told you what we're really doing here, you'd think we're crazy."

He looked at her, their eyes meeting. "What _are_ you doing here, then?"

Sarah gulped, and opened her mouth to speak, but another shriek came from close. She stood frozen, for a second, as Dean was looking at her, with a sort of glare, but he left, and she started to follow. They headed back toward the stairs, meeting the others.

Another shriek came.

"We've searched the entire upstairs," Sam said.

"It's coming from up here," Dean argued.

The shrieking continued.

"Guys?" shouted Sarah. She nodded to a cord that was dangling above them. The attic.

She pulled the cord and down came a ladder. She started to climb it.

"Guys can't do anything without women, can they?" and with that, she went up the ladder.

She reached the top, climbing up, and immediately the feel and smell of dust invaded her nose. She coughed a little, looked down at the guys who were coming up, and wandered around the room. The shrieking had stopped a little.

"Hello?" Sarah called out. And her eyes widened when she saw a red overcoat laying on the ground. Ash. He was unconscious.

"Ash?" she crouched by him, shaking him. She heard a shriek, and when she looked up, she saw something moving. She took out her Keyblade and struck it.

With a shattering noise, it broke…a mirror?

She took a step closer. Yep, a mirror. She killed her reflection. There was still a large area of the mirror, and she could see her face. Her brilliant blue eyes seemed to glow in the dark…and the reflection smiled. She didn't. The reflection pointed to her own eyes before disappearing.

"Sarah?" she heard Ian call.

"I know. Wake him up." Sarah said, talking about Ash.

"Sarah." He called, his voice more urgent. She went over to them.

It wasn't Ash. The red coat she thought was Ash's turned out to be a dark red shirt. No, not dark red. At least, not originally.

It was a man, wearing a cop uniform. And that was all she could tell, because his entire face was covered in blood, and there were two very dark and bloody holes where his eyes should've been.

"Oh, my goddess," Sarah said, turning away from the grotesque scene. She felt a wave of nausea. She composed herself, standing up. "Let's get this thing."

She turned back toward the stairs and headed down them. She didn't even wait for the others to follow her.

She walked down the stairs, and out the front door. She felt someone grab her arm and turn around. Surprisingly, it was Dean.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"_Something_ has been killing these people!" she replied, impatiently. "I have to find it, and kill it."

"What do you mean, 'something'?" he asked. "Sarah, what do you know?"

"You _know_ what I mean!" Sarah said impatiently. She was disturbed by that image, that person just lying there. And her reflection…"I know you do. You've seen things…and most people don't believe you if you told them. You move around from town to town hunting these creatures down. Why?"

"How do you know all that?" asked Sam, who joined them.

"Because I-" Sarah started. _I've dreamt it._ "I've done all that, too." She turned on her heel again, but didn't get very far. Dean grabbed her wrist.

"You don't even know what it is," Dean said.

"That's why I'm going to find out," Sarah argued. "I'm not gonna stand by and watch another person die. I can't! Come if you want, but I'm going to go after it."

She turned and walked away, going at a fast pace. Thea walked with her, running to her.

"Wait. You can't just go after it. It won't work, anyway," Thea argued.

"What do you mean?"

"It only works at night. Taking _one_ victim at a time. It's too weak to do more. We'll go back to the hotel and figure out in the morning. Until tomorrow night…we'll see if we find anything, okay?"

Sarah stopped. Thea, the calm and rational one. Who always knew what to do. Sarah bit her lip and nodded reluctantly.

"It's just," Sarah started, her voice low, "when I saw that body lying there…I thought it was Ash for a moment. It scared me."

"Well, we're not going anywhere, that's for sure." Thea said, smiling. She pulled Sarah into a hug.

The others caught up to them. Sarah's team looked at her, as if awaiting orders. Dean and Sam looked as if Sarah were mental. They weren't used to Sarah's shoot-first-ask-questions-later attitude.

"So," started Astra. "What's the plan, boss?"

"We go back to the Hotel," started Sarah. "Find out everything there is to know about this thing. Then, at night, whether or not we get any info, we'll split up around town and wait for this thing to show up."

She then turned to Dean and Sam, who were still giving her that look. "Dean, Sam. Take care. Watch your backs, okay?" She gave them a half-smile, and started making her way to the hotel.

* * *

The next day, the team was up and about, working on figuring out what that thing was. Thea, Ian and Astra were out in the town trying to find leads. Squall and Ash were at the library, trying to see if they could find any records. Seth and Sarah were at the Hotel, going through their own research. 

"There's gotta be something," said Seth, who was sitting in the guys' room, flipping through Ansem's Journal. "'Nobodies rarely kill for the heart...' 'Usually just leave the body...' blah blah blah." He snapped the book shut. "This might not really help all that much. We need something like--"

There was a knock at the door. Sarah, who was the closest one to the door, opened it. Dean and Sam, holding what looked like a very old book and a bunch of newspapers. Dean did not look very happy.

"Them." said Sarah, grinning at Dean. She let them in, Seth taking the newspapers from Sam.

"So, what's up, guys?" Sarah asked. "Doing some more of your 'undercover detective' stuff?"

"Sammy here thinks its a great idea if we all sit at a campfire and sing Kumbyah." Dean said sarcastically. Sarah shot Sam a quizzical look. She wondered what Kumbyah was.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. "Look, obviously you guys know something. You might have something that'll help us, and we might have something that'll help you."

"Jeez, these things date back to fifty years ago!" Seth said.

"So we're going to work together." Sarah said, in a sort of bitter tone. She wasn't really sure she trusted these guys. They had lied to her after all. "Whoopee."

"Well," said Dean, a little brighter. "Told ya she wouldn't go for the plan, Sammy. Better luck next time." He started to pull Sam toward the door.

"Wait," said Seth, staring at the paper. "There's something. Four years ago. '"Alien Hoax: Serial Killer Caught." The Park Forest Police arrested 36-year-old Charles Jores for the murder of five people in the town and some of its surrounding area. Jores confessed to the mysterious and puzzling killings saying that he broke into people's homes at night and murdered them in front of various mirrors, taking out organs. Jores is on death row and has been sentenced to death.'"

"So, if he's dead, then..." Sarah started.

"His spirit's what's killing these people," finished Dean. He looked a little less anxious to leave. "So all we need is to kill it."

"No," Sarah corrected.

"We need Thea." Sarah and Seth said in unison.

* * *

They were back at the Hotel, everyone including Sam and Dean. They were forming a plan. 

"What could it be? Nobody or supernatural?" Thea asked, more to the team than Dean and Sam, who still didn't know about Nobodies and the Keyblade or other worlds.

"Let's start from the widest range and narrow it down," Seth said.

"Start with anything," Thea said. She was sitting crossed-legged on the floor, eyes closed. "Don't leave out even the smallest detail."

"It only works at night," Sarah said.

"That narrows it down," Thea said, her eyes closed.

"It only attacks once a night," pointed out .

"That narrows it down," said Thea.

"It seems like it's completely random," Sam said. "First a sixteen year old high school girl, then a forty year old police officer."

"Narrows it down," Thea said. "What else?"

"It's been only taking vital organs," Seth said. "First the heart, then the eyes."

"That narrows it down," Thea repeated.

"The…victims," started Ian, with a hint of distaste in his tone. "They're all near mirrors."

"Yes!" shouted Thea, springing up. She snapped out of her "trance" and into her very "eccentric" state as Ian called it. "The one thing that all of these seem to have in common that makes sense is that they're all in front of mirrors! So, here's the plan. We need a place where there are lots of mirrors, a huge building. Hold a summoning if it's a demon. If not, my theory is that it can only travel through mirrors at nighttime. So, we round up as many mirrors as we can around town--there aren't that many big enough ones around here anyway--and take them all to a building. But, we still need to figure out what this thing is _and _find our building. So. Seth, Sam, me and you guys'll hit the books. Dean, you and Sarah try and check out any potential buildings to get this thing done. I want the rest of the team to get the mirrors. Got it?"

Sarah and Dean looked at each other, giving each other a sarcastic _great._ look, before they headed out the door.

* * *

"So," started Dean, as they were checking around the area, out of town a couple of miles. "What got you started? This whole...thing you guys do." 

"Well," started Sarah. "I didn't really choose this, if that's what you mean. It sort of just...chose me. I never really wanted this."

"Nobody ever does."

"What got _you_ started, then?"

There was a long silence coming from Dean. Sarah had already figured as him not being one to talk much.

They approached what looked like an old library. It was old and looked like it had seen better days, but it was big enough. "This okay?" he asked.

"Looks fine. Come on, let's check it out." She stood there, letting Dean examine the door. Dean looked at it, and then looked at Sarah out of the corner of his eye, as if not sure what to do. He took a few steps back and ran into it, but it didn't budge, and then tried kicking down the door.

"I can't get through. The wood must've warped."

"Hang on," Sarah said. She pressed herself against the door so Dean couldn't see, and placed one palm on the door, by the knob. She cast a Fire spell which burned the wood slightly, but enough so that the door could open.

"How'd you do that?" asked Dean. Sarah grinned at her.

"Door's old. You just gotta find the spot," she said, grinning, before she entered.

The inside was pitch black and Sarah was scared not because of any Nobodies or Heartless, but about what _things_ might be living in here.

She jumped when she saw a light switch on next to her, but realized it was Dean's flashlight.

"Jumpy much?" he asked mockingly.

"No," Sarah said, her voice a little higher than she would've liked. "You just...surprised me is all."

Something crawled across the floor, making a loud crash with metal. Sarah jumped, and gripped Dean's jacket.

Dean grinned, and embarrased, Sarah let go. She playfully pushed him on the shoulder.

"Shut up," she said.

"Yeah, I hear ya," Dean teased. "Fearless fighter and all that."

"Hey, you wouldn't be saying that if you saw me in a real fight," Sarah retorted, looking around her. She wandered into a larger room, one with white sheets on the furniture. She figured they were covered in about ten years worth of dust. She walked up to a tall piece of furniture and pulled off the sheet.

An old bookshelf, covered in dust. Sarah grimaced at it, and sloppily put the sheet back. She walked over to another thing...and screamed.

It was a full bodied mirror, and her reflection was definitely _not_ her. It was sort of her, she supposed, with the right height and hair length and clothes, but the features were completely off. Her entire face was decomposed, rotten gray flesh, and sharp bone sticking out of her cheek, although she had beautiful green eyes in the sockets. She had no skin on her arms, and Sarah's clothes hung loosely on the bones. Beneath the shirt, Sarah saw a beat, beat, beat of a heart. Her forhead was oozing out red blood, coming from a little hole in her head. But the girl in the mirror smiled.

"I'm coming for you, Keyblade Master," it said, in Sarah's voice, but with a sweetly innocent tone. It was so calming, so soothing. Sarah wanted to listen to it for ages. It mysified her, and she wanted to hear more of this girl. "Love with a heart. See with your eyes. Nobody's wish." Then, it lowered her eyes, maliciously and violent, her voice all the while more beautiful. "I wonder what can I take next? I know..." What was she saying? Sarah wondered. It didn't matter, really. As long as she was talking with that wonderful voice, nothing mattered.

It touched its cheek. "Maybe your skin. Yes. Beautiful."

Sarah couldn't believe it. Her skin, beautiful? That girl with the godly voice thought so? There had to be some way to give her what she wanted. After all, this girl was a goddess...

"Yes, Sarah. Give me that beautiful skin. Make me gorgeous again," it reached out to touch her, and its fingers poked through the glass. _Yes_,Sarah thought. _This is what I could give her. Make her happy--_

The fingers wrapped around Sarah's throat, and Sarah came to her senses. But it was too late. An immense pain, sharper than anything she'd ever felt shot up. She felt as if she was on fire. She screamed in agony, sinking to her knees. She could feel every skin cell on her body start shifting, into the girl's hand. The girl's hand started to heal, to form new and beautiful skin on her fingers. Sarah's skin.

And then, it was gone. Sarah fell on the ground hard, the fingers gone from around her throat, and nothing but a severed finger lay on the ground. A perfect finger, with new skin. Sarah looked up, and saw Dean holding the gun in his hand. The mirror was cracked, damaged with a large bullet hole in the center.

Putting away the gun, Dean held out a hand to her, which she took gratefully, and pulled herself up. She looked up at him, and saw him looking at her with concern (even though he didn't really show it; she just knew guys well enough to know that look). She felt her face grow hot with embarrassment, and tried to cover it up. Just then, with the gun in his hand, he looked hot.

"I, um, guess we found our culprit," Sarah said, clearing her throat.

"Just come back and burn the thing later," Dean said, starting to leave.

But when he said that, Sarah gasped, because the mirror was--well, there was no better word for it--_healing_ itself. The glass rippled, as it did when the girl's hand came out. The cracks smoothed over, the bullet hole now completely gone. And Sarah's reflection smiled when Sarah didn't.

"I'm coming for you, Keyblade Master," it spoke. Sarah's eyes grew wide. _Burn the thing later,_ she remembered Dean say and balled up her fist, making a Fire spell. "Your beautiful skin will be mine."

"Fira!" shouted Sarah, extending her arm out. A large fireball shot out, hitting the mirror. It set on fire, the mirror burning. The girl in the mirror screamed, and sparks flew from out the mirror. Sarah and Dean ran because of the sparks.

They ran outside, laughing in relief.

"Did you see that?" Sarah said excitedly.

"Blew up like the fourth of July!" Dean said, laughing. Sarah didn't really get what that meant. What was so important about the fourth of July?

She took a breath, sighing. "I think we should tell the others." she caught Dean's expression, and then added, just for his sake, "And then it's 'bye-bye you guys.'"

* * *

The team was back at the Hotel, taking a break. Thea, Sarah and Ian were in the 'girl's room' as Astra, Seth and Squall were in the guy's room. Ash was back at the crash site, trying to find some way to send a signal out to a gummi. 

Thea was sitting cross-legged on the floor as she usually did, deep in meditation. Ian was wandering somewhere around the room, and Sarah was laying on the bed, her arms behind her head.

Sarah watched as Ian paced back and forth. She couldn't stop thinking about a few days ago, how she'd almost killed him when she was possessed. He'd been acting a little strange around her, and so had everyone else. Astra was the only one who admitted that she was fine with Sarah because "it wasn't her in there." The others...well, a lot of them had probably never faced anything like that.

Ian stopped, looking at Sarah. Their eyes met, and he had a strange look in his eyes. Then, he walked over to Thea, and tapped her on the shoulder. Sarah looked up, trying not to stare at the events, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thea get up and she and Ian walked to the other side of the room, where they were talking.

She saw Thea pause and look directly at Sarah, and then continue talking with Ian.

They kept this up for a few more minutes.

And Sarah was getting more and more paranoid by the minute.

* * *

"Come on, Dean." Sam pleaded. 

"Sammy, I'd love action with a chick as much as the next guy, but I don't do _that _kinda thing." Dean told his little brother, taking a swig from his bottle of beer.

"Come on! I'm not saying to..._do_ anything with her. Just...business." Sam said. "And besides I know you'll like her."

"What's _business_ got to do with this? And what the hell's gotten into you? You've never tried to do anything like this before." he sighed, figuring that if Sam was doing this, it was for a reason. "All right, fine. Jeez. Better hope I get something by the end of the night."

Sam grinned. He was about to be twenty bucks richer.

* * *

Sarah was getting more ansy by the minute as she watched Ian and Thea talking. Conspiring. 

And then, finally, Ian turned and walked toward Sarah.

"Sarah, can we talk?" Ian started, and he sat her down on the bed, sitting next to her.

Her heart sank. _This is it,_ she thought. _They're gonna let me go...lonely Keyblade Master on her own. They're gonna go back to Traverse Town or find Sora on their own because they don't want anyone to get hurt..._

"Sarah, I was thinking. You've been so busy fighting, and doing this. Especially from the last world."

_Oh, crap. Here it comes._

"And, well, we've decided. We think you might need a break." Ian finished.

Sarah swallowed. "Oh."

"Well, now, listen. Tonight we're going to be looking for the Nobody. But, we were thinking that as we're doing that, you should relax. You know, have a little fun. And, well, I was thinking. Would you...you, know, like to go on a date?" Ian managed to choke out.

Sarah felt her face grow hot. "W-with you?" she stuttered.

"No!" Ian replied, quickly. He looked to Thea, who was coming toward them. "Explain." he told her.

"We were thinking," Thea started, grinning. "That you could use a break. And, since we're gonna be stuck here for a while, we thought, why not get to know some of the locals anyway? You know, a nice, fancy restaurant, little conversation...why not?"

"You mean," Sarah started. "You guys are setting me up on a blind date?"

"Why not?" Thea started. "It'll be an experience. And besides, I think you'll like him."

Sarah gulped. _Okay. Actually, the whole them leaving me thing is starting to sound a little bit better than this._

"Alright," she said, finally, her voice quiet. "I guess I could. Just...one thing: is he cute?"

Thea and Ian grinned at each other. They were about to be each twenty munny richer.

* * *

"Hi, I'm Sarah Hunter. My friend Thea Wolfe called about me?" Sarah asked, as she tapped her fingers anxiously on the podium where the hostess was. 

She wanted to get this over with. She was dying in this skirt. Currently, thanks to Thea, she was wearing a white cotton skirt with small blue flowers on it, with a low drop-neck turqoise shirt. She looked good, sure, but she _hated _the way it felt. She hadn't dressed up in ages and now she remembered why.

"Yes, Miss Hunter. There's a man waiting for you, I think," replied the hostess. She was about Sarah's age, and Sarah had a feeling that the hostess knew that this was a blind date. "Um, your friend gave me specific instructions not to tell you who the man was. Do you want me to show you to the table?"

"Yeah," Sarah swallowed. She was still incredibly nervous.

"Don't worry. He's a great catch," assured the hostess, winking at Sarah. That made her even more nervous.

They walked through the table, to a _very_ fancy seating area, complete with chandeliers and white tablecloths. Sarah wondered how in the world Thea could afford all of this.

"Right this way, ma'am," said the hostess, and sat Sarah down at a table where there was a man dressed up, his head turned away to watch a young blond waitress behind them.

Sarah cleared her throat, and the man turned around. Both of them were shocked.

"Dean?" Sarah sputtered out.

"Sarah?"

"What're you doing here?" both managed to get out.

"I--Thea and Ian--set me up on a blind date!" Sarah tried to explain, hoping and praying it wasn't Dean.

"Sam set me up, too!" Dean replied, in almost the same tone.

Laughter errupted from a nearby table. Sarah and Dean turned to see...Sam, Thea, and Ian.

"Son of a--" Dean abruptly started to stand up, and Sarah knew he was going to maybe start a fight. She tugged on his sleeve to try to stop him.

"Sit down," she whispered. "If you get into a fight it'll only get in the way."

Dean sat down, reluctantly, looking at Sarah. She continued. "We shouldn't let them know that we know they're there. Let them think we're having this god-awful time to make them feel guilty. And then, when this is all said and done, we can go outside and kick the crap outta them."

Dean didn't say anything, merely grinned, before gulping down his glass of wine. He frowned. He didn't like wine as much as beer.

---

"Looks like they're getting along," Sam pointed out at the table across the room.

It was about a good half hour later. Thea, Ian and Sam saw how Dean and Sarah were acting awkward around each other, but after their second bottle of wine, they loosened up a _lot_. Now they were laughing, talking like old friends.

"Or plotting our revenge," Ian muttered. His voice was low, a growl. Thea looked at him, startled. There was something behind his expression, a shadow, which she had never seen before as he stared at Sarah and Dean. Then he turned back toward them, a smile, and the shadow gone. "So, do you think we'll get our money's worth?"

"From the way she's downing that wine?" Thea asked, eyebrows raised. "I think we'll get our money by the end of the night."

"Does she know that that's wine?" asked Ian. Traverse Town wasn't exactly known for their alcohol.

"I should hope so," replied Thea. "Or else this mission might get a little too interesting."

They turned back their attention toward the two. Sarah was miming something, telling a story from what it looked like, between laughter. Thea turned back toward Ian, and saw that same scowl on his face. She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering what it was that made him look that way. He saw her looking at him out of the corner of his eye, and raised his eyebrows at her, flirtatiously. She turned back toward the date, smiling. Yep, that was the Ian she knew.

---

"So, the three of us were locked in this alleyway," Sarah was explaining, between laughter. After talking about many things, both happy and painful (Sarah and Dean both lost their mother at a very young age, and Ash and John Winchester were very much alike) she and Dean had loosened up a lot—and she was currently telling an old memory from Traverse Town. Thea, Ian, and her initiation. "It was clean and all, but there was so much water! So we had to stay there for an entire week because of initiation. And so since we only had two changes of clothes we had to wash them there. It wasn't that bad, except it was two girls one guy! So there me and Thea were, washing our clothes, in nothing but our understuff, when Ian comes in right next to us, in just his boxers, and jumps in the water!"

They laughed, and paused for more wine. "So, what, you guys all went skinny dipping?" Dean teased.

Sarah blushed at that suggestion. "No, although he did steal out clothes and swam around with them in the water to try and get us in there."

"So what did you do?" Dean asked.

"We got up, went over to his stuff and hid them all in a crack in the cave. He didn't find them until the end of the week! He was just walking around the entire time in his boxers. It was funny because especially at nighttime it gets freezing. Me and Thea kept teasing him." she grinned at the memory.

A slight pause fell over them, and they took the opportunity to eat their dinner and drink. Sarah smiled.

"You know something?" Sarah started, smiling at him. "This isn't half bad. It's actually kinda…nice."

She met his eyes, smiling at him. He smiled back, and then looked down. For the first time since Sarah knew him he looked…sheepish? "I think that's just the wine talking," he replied.

"Wait, we're drinking wine?" Sarah asked, and Dean thought she was kidding.

---

Thea, Ian and Sam had left about twenty minutes before. They didn't know that Sarah and Dean had spotted them, so they went home to beat them before Sarah and Dean did.

And now, Dean and Sarah were starting to head out, since Thea and Sam paid the bill for them. They were outside the restaurant, now, standing outside the door, and a little tipsy. It had been raining now for a while, as they were in the restaurant. Sarah decided to put on her jacket, so as to not ruin Thea's favourite shirt.

She started, and felt Dean help her with it, she spun around to turn around afterward, and was face to face with him. Their faces were inches apart, and she could feel his breath on her face. He leaned forward to kiss her, and Sarah closed her eyes, anticipating. But before their lips met, she felt a vibration in her jacket pocket. Her PHS.

"Oh!" she stopped, looking down, and digging out her PHS. The caller ID read: PHS—Thea.

"I—have to take this," she said, looking up at him. He had backed away a few steps, she saw. She cursed her phone. And Thea. Somewhat.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Sarah," Thea started. Her voice was far away, in that trance-like state. "We're ready. We know where it is. And what it is. Come to the library, you know where you were earlier. We'll meet you there."

"Got it." whatever fun and games before was gone from Sarah. It was business time. She turned back toward Dean. "We got our target. It's at the library. Let's go." She said, and they ran toward the library.

When Sarah and Dean arrived inside, they saw the mirrors gone and out of the room, all except for one really big one. The room looked huge. A fighting room.

Sarah saw her team, Ash, and Sam standing in the room. Thea, Seth, and Ian were placing candles around the mirror in a circle, lighting them with Fire spells. Sam was holding a book covered in scribbles. Ansem's journal. He was reading it, almost done with it. He knew who they were.

When they were done placing the candles down, Thea approached Dean and Sarah. She was all business now.

"What are we dealing with?" asked Sarah.

"It's a mimic," Thea explained.

"A mimic? But that's neither a Heartless or Nobody. Easy." Sarah smirked.

Thea shook her head. "I'm afraid it's worse than that. It's a Nobody mimic. A really strong one. Those people that it killed? It's taking those things and creating a shape with it. It's very strong now, and it's almost a Nobody. It has legs, arms, a body. The officer we saw in the house? It has his eyes. A mouth. A face. It needs skin, next. I think that's why it was after you. It kills everyone for their parts every night. It steals them."

Sarah gulped. That was disgusting. She had to warn Thea about what had happened earlier.

"Thea," she started. "Be careful. It is really powerful. It has this…hypnotic ability. I don't know. It's the voice. Don't let it get to you."

Thea nodded, and then gestured to the room. "We're going to summon it to us. That way we can make sure it doesn't hurt anybody and then defeat it. It's gonna be hard, but we can do it. And Sam can help. He's been looking over Ansem's journal. Since it's taking the form of dead people, it can be trapped within a demonic ring. We can get this thing."

---

It was time. They were going to summon it, now. Sam started to read a book in a different language. The mimic was coming.

It appeared in the mirror, the same form. A girl, who looked very much like Sarah, with brilliant blue eyes, but the decomposed skin was now perfect. It was looking very evil. It scanned over the room, smiling when it met Sarah's eyes.

"Hello," it spoke. Everyone froze. There was that…mesmerizing voice again. Sarah shook her head.

"Don't listen to it!" she shouted. Everyone seemed to snap back to reality.

The girl smiled, before turning toward Squall and throwing him backward into Sam with its mind in order to stop the incantation.

"It's too strong!" Thea shouted, as she turned toward the collision. "It has psychic powers already! It must have taken it from a fiend."

The mimic turned toward Thea. "The lonely girl. Nobody left. All destroyed. You're all alone."

Thea's face changed into a snarl. Sarah had never seen her so angry. "Shut up!" yelled Thea at the mimic.

"Come here, witch," the girl's voice was soothing again. Her eyes bored into Thea's, piercing her soul. Thea stepped forward.

"No!" shouted Sarah. She started to run, but her legs were paralyzed. Thea continued forward, until she stopped. The girl didn't say anything, but rather looked at her.

_Blow out the candles._ Thea heard in her mind. It was such a nice voice…she should listen to it…so she did. She mustered a water spell over the candles, and doused them.

"No!" shouted Sarah. She summoned the Keyblade, and threw it. The girl shot a look at the Keyblade, but it didn't move. It kept going…and moved through the mirror and hit the girl.

The girl was now mad, and her eyes glowed intensely. "You will pay, Keyblade Master!"

She growled, and the objects that weren't secured to the ground such as the candles, books, and some extra weapons, rose up in the air, encircling her in a tornado.

"Aeroa!" shouted Thea, and the tornado stopped, hurtling at the mirror and hitting the girl.

"Concentrate on your attacks and they will go through the mirror!" shouted Ash.

"Fira!" shouted Thea, at the same time Sarah threw the Keyblade. The Fira spell hit the Keyblade, turning the Keyblade into a fire-blade.

Dean, Sam, Seth and Squall fired their guns at it. Ash threw dagger at a marksman hit. Ian threw a bladed boomerang at it. Astra cast a blizzard spell at it.

The attacks hit it at the same time. The mimic screamed in pain. It seemed to be disappearing, dying.

"No!" the girl shouted, as her hands were disappearing into black materia.

"One last…" she started, and she grabbed Thea's wrist out of the mirror, pulling her in. Ian grabbed on to Thea's other wrist, and they and along with everyone around them were pulled into the mirror at a time, and the mirror's reflection turned into a multi-coloured flat vortex that they went through. At that same time, the mimic died, turning into black materia.

"No!" shouted Sarah. Her team…her father. Gone.

She started to run toward it, but Dean grabbed her, putting his arm around her waist to stop her. She turned back to him.

"I have to go through it. I have to save them," she protested.

"You don't know what's through there! You could die for all you know!" Sam said. "You can't, Sarah. You need to stay alive."

She shook her head, turning back to the vortex. They can't be dead. She closed her eyes, turning back to Dean.

"I have to do it. It's still open. And besides," she grinned. "We don't have any other way to get off this stupid world."

"Just be careful," Dean finally said, looking at her. She smiled at him.

"Where would the fun in that be?" she grinned at him, before turning toward the vortex. "I'll come visit sometime. Who knows, we might need you for something later. And I wouldn't mind going on another date."

"Me either," he replied, smiling.

She looked toward Sam. "Thank you guys, for everything."

"Sarah?" Sam started, smiling. "When you see Thea and Ian, tell me that they owe me twenty dollars."

Sarah smiled, and then turned back toward the vortex. She started to run toward it, but stopped.

She ran back toward Dean and grabbed his tie, which was undone, and pulled him toward her, closing the distance between them. She kissed him, passionately, before the lack of oxygen made her stop.

"I'll…uh…come back, soon," she squeaked, her voice much higher. She turned back toward the vortex, and ran, jumping inside it.

"Dean?" Sam started. A short pause before he continued, smiling.

"Marry that girl."

A/N: Yes! Finally! Hope you liked it! I know it's been too long since I've updated it! I promise since its summer it'll get better. Anyway tell me how you like it!


	5. Here Without You

Anyway. Finally! My Doctor Who chapter! Oh, I'm going to have fun with this. This is my ALL-TIME FAVORITE SHOW and I kinda like Season 3 (Don't hurt me…I'm American!) Anyway. Martha's actually starting to grow on me (they said she'll be in the next season) (DON'T HATE ME) Anyway. Enjoy.

Anyway. After the awesome reviews I got for Partners, I thought I'd give ya'll a two-parter. That, and cause I finished half-way through the ONE chapter I was supposed to do, but it's already 22 pages:D

_Chapter 5 Warnings_: I AM AMERICAN! Therefore I have American humour (and a bad one at that) and will be attempting to use it in a British show. Probably going to be the worst warning for this chapter (seriously, too). Violence, minor swearing, blah blah blah. Oh, and it's a two-parter, too. Just to let ya'll know.

_Crossover:_ Doctor Who, hello!

_Ship:_ OCxSarahxOC people aren't guessing to get cookies! Mmm...cookies...SxK for later chapters, and Ten/Rose.

_Setting:_ About a year and a half after Doomsday (yeah, I know I'm going against my profile. You got a problem with that?)

_Spoilers:_ Doomsday. Army of Ghosts, with mentions of everything in Season 3…may be spoiling something about the Face of Boe from The Last Time Lord.

**Reviews: **

_Duncan McGregor: _I hope you like this! I know you don't really like Doctor Who pairings, but I'm trying to hold back as much as possible…kinda a little onesided, you know? Well, hopefully I can keep holding back for the next chapter. I'll try! Anyway. Tell me if you like it!

_A Forgotten Fairy_- Don't worry, it'll all work out…And we all love Dean, but come on. Poor Ian. Lol. Thanks for your review! (And my friends are cruel too.)

_Lina-Baggins_ – Well, here it is! David Tennant all for yo—Ros—me. lol. Kidding. I share. And thank you very much for the reviews! I'm glad to see someone from Partners:D Oh, and this is a two parter so you get twice that much Tennant-dosage…:D

* * *

**Chapter 5: ****Here Without You**

It was like it had been about a year ago. But something was slightly off. The words, the thoughts. And it wasn't windy this time, but pouring rain, out on Bad Wolf Bay. She wasn't sure what she had wore that day, either, so her clothes were probably different as well. But the one thing that hadn't changed--the one that thing that _wouldn't_ change, was _him._ His image would be forever engraved in her mind. Because that was the day she last saw him. The day she'd died.

It was a painful few months without him. No goodbyes, no anything. She thought she'd lost him forever. And then, he'd called out to her.

She followed his voice, as she always did, to a beach. Bad Wolf Bay. No, not always the beach. Maybe Bad Wolf River or the S.S. Bad Wolf, or even once, inside the TARDIS itself. But here it was a rainy beach.

He appeared to her. An image, a hologram, but that was better than nothing. He told her how this was it. They'd never see each other again.

"So what are you going to do, then?" she asked him, fighting the tears.

"Suppose I'll just have to travel alone again," he told her. He could see the pain in his eyes as he told her this.

And for her, it was now or never. She tried forming the words, but even thinking about them brought the tears. It was too final, too much of a goodbye. But she had to tell him.

"I lo--" she started, but her voice cracked, and she started to sob. The rain fell harder. _Look at me_, she though. _I can't even say it. And I was going to, just not like this._

"I love you," she said, finally. He looked shocked. He gulped, and she could see the tears forming in his eyes.

He was speechless, for the first time, surprised. A short pause fell over the two. "I suppose, then," he started. "Don't know how much time I've got left--Rose Tyler--"

He disappeared. His limited time with her was up. Forever. They'd never see each other again.

She cried, and the rain fell harder. No matter how different it would be-- the weather, the place, the thoughts--one thing would never change: that would always be the day she died.

* * *

Rose Tyler woke up with a jolt, her eyelids snapping open.

She was sad, although she'd gotten used to it. It had been over a year since that day, and since then, she'd been reliving that moment every night, in her dreams.

A baby cried in the house. Rose got out of bed and walked down the hall, to a small room with a crib. She picked up the screaming child and comforted her.

"Anna, you know you _really _have got to stop waking me up so early," she told her little sister, calmly, now one year old. Anna Rose Tyler. She patted the girl to calm her down.

She was sort-of glad to have a baby sister. Someone to look after, to distract her from painful memories, maybe indefinitely.

The child's crying stopped. It was like this every morning, now, almost exactly at 5:30. At least it woke her up early enough to get up for work.

She put Anna back in her crib and the eight-month old fell asleep once again. As she headed out of the room, she stopped before exiting, turning back to look to look at Anna Tyler. She never thought she'd have a little sister. After all these years since her dad--the one from _her _reality--died, her mother had not reconsidered getting married ever again. And then they had met Pete Tyler, the alternate reality version of her father, and Jackie Tyler once again married him.

She walked back out of the room, and went back to her own room to get ready for work. As she walked down the hall, she paused, looking in another room. He was gone. Her ex-boyfriend and best friend, Mickey Smith, was probably at work, down in Torchwood.

Of course, she had been offered a job there, which she had accepted it…until a month after _he_ spoke to her at Bad Wolf Bay. Torchwood was too much of a reminder of him. Maybe later, in years to come, she'd go back there and be the 'Defender of the Earth.'

But for now…she got ready for work, taking a quick shower and getting dressed. She put on a half-casual, half-business blue shirt, with tan pants, over which she put on a white and pink blouse-dress. Now for shoes…she started to pick up the boots she would normally wear. Comfortable and dressy. But for some reason, something told her to instead take her tennis shoes to work. Perhaps she would go running later.

She had no idea how right she was.

* * *

It was almost 10:15. Rose was bored, watching as the two groups of two sat down at the diner, eating their meals. One of them, the male and female were young and so obviously in love. They'd talk about everything, and would laugh at what the other said, and teased each other. The other group, a male and a male were obviously businessmen, talking about charts and having very small meals.

"Hey, Tyler!" called the manager, Jeff, who was only a year older than she. He liked to think that he was the boss of everyone, while he did absolutely nothing. He called everyone by their last names, and if anyone so much as looked at him wrong, Jeff would give them the dirtiest jobs. "Go refill the sugar jars."

Rose did as she was told. She wasn't happy here, but she wasn't anywhere else. She needed…distraction.

As she refilled the sugar jars, she looked over at the man and the woman couple, who were leaving, hand in hand. For a split second, she pictured the man with big brown hair, a pinstriped brown suit with Converse sneakers, and the woman with blond hair, a few inches shorter than the woman with brown eyes.

It was then she felt the coldness on her hand. She squeaked in surprise when she saw that the sugar overflowed onto the counter, on her hand. She reached for a napkin and cleaned it up, hoping that Jeff wouldn't see.

It was then that the bell rang again, to signal someone walking in. Rose looked up…and saw a very sad sight.

A girl about her age with long brown hair and brilliant blue eyes walked in. She looked very pretty, but that wasn't the bad part.

The girl had been wearing a nice turquoise shirt with a beautiful skirt to match. Now, the skirt was covered in dirt, the shirt ripped in various places. The girl herself was covered in smudges, scratches, and her hair wild and dirty. She looked like a girl who had been dumped at prom.

Her expression was worn out and weary. She looked as if she had given up all hope. A look Rose had come to recognize in herself.

Rose walked over to the girl. "Hello," she greeted the brunette.

"Hi," the girl replied. She smiled at Rose. "You're the first friendly face I've seen around here." It was an odd accent she had. Almost American but not quite.

Rose grabbed a menu, checking her watch. 10:25. She started to lead the girl over to a booth. "Really? Where are you from?"

"Oh," the girl sounded sort of distant. "Very far. Further than you've probably travelled."

Probably not. Rose smiled.

"Actually," the girl started sitting down. "I'm sort of lost. See, I came here with my friends. We all arrived by the same sort of transportation—it's just that I came here after them. And, well, I don't know even where _here_ is. I don't know how to contact them at all."

Separated from her friends. Rose was starting to like this girl. Maybe she could help out. After all, she knew that she should be doing something in her life to help people.

"Well," replied Rose, smiling. "You're in London right now. It's a big city, but I'm sure you'll find them. In fact, you know what? I go on break in about…three minutes. Why don't I take your order, and after that I can help you try to find them?"

The girl smiled at Rose. "Thank you. You're a really nice person. What would you, you know, recommend?" She picked up the menu, skimming it.

"Well, I'd a burger and chips to anyone. They're my favourite, and the chef's best," she replied.

"Yeah," the girl said, nodding. "I think I'll have that."

Rose took the menu from the girl, placed the order and signed off for break. She undid her blouse-dress, folding it neatly over a chair in the kitchen. She started to walk back the girl, carrying a very tall glass of water in her hand.

The girl was looking at a picture, a photograph that Rose couldn't quite see.

"On the house," Rose said when she put the glass down. The girl looked up in surprise, and then slowly grinned at Rose, taking the water.

"Thank you," replied the girl. "It's been a while since I've had really good water. I've been tight on munny since I came here, since my friend Thea was in charge of it."

She looked back down at the photograph. She flipped it so it was Rose. It was a picture of a group of kids, smiling and laughing. A brunette with curly brown. A guy with spiked brown hair that looked somewhat like the brunette. Perhaps her brother. A redhead with wavy brown hair that was very vibrant. A kid with long brown hair and a leather jacket. A blond boy with a very wide grin, who most of the others were giving bunny ears to. And the girl who walked in, beautiful and cleaned up, smiling at the camera.

"That was a long time ago," the girl said. She looked up at Rose.

"I'm sorry," Rose replied, giving the girl the photograph back. "Really."

"I'm Sarah," the girl said.

"Rose." They gave each other a slight smile. "So, what all happened?"

"Well," started Sarah, carefully. "We were in another place. We're…tourists. You know, travelling and such. Anyway. So were…well, long story short, we met this…girl, right, and she sort of convinced us to take this transportation to another place. We had no idea where it went, but we went there anyway. Well, my friends went first. I stuck around a bit because I had made a few friends there at that place, and I wanted to say goodbye to them. So then I went after them. Next thing I knew, I was in an alleyway, with almost no munny, and my friends nowhere in sight. I started looking for them, trying to see if anyone saw them, but they were nowhere to be found. After about two days, my confidence in myself started to waver. I wandered around, hungry and found myself here. And the rest is history."

Rose frowned. She had a feeling Sarah was not telling her everything. Still, this task was getting more and more interesting.

Sarah gave a sarcastic chuckle. "You know what was worse?" she started. "The last place we went to. I went out on a date with a guy. And I liked it."

"So…you like dates with girls, then?" Rose had to ask.

Sarah looked up, narrowing her eyes in confusion before she continued. "What? No. It's just…" she placed her finger on the photograph. "I've been kinda…confused about this one guy lately. I've known him for so long now. He's my best friend, you know? We've been through so much, and it's just lately…you know? And he's the one that set me up on the blind date."

"Sarah," Rose started. "You can't wait forever for someone who may or may not like you back. You've got to continue. Have a fantastic life." She knew how much of a hypocrite she sounded.

"Rose?" Sarah started, looking at her. "Who did _you_ lose?"

"What?!" Rose asked, taken aback by the question.

"It's just…I dunno, you seem like you have, that's all," Sarah looked down, and Rose could see her blushing.

Rose sighed. "He was my best friend as well." Sarah looked back at her, surprised and intrigued. "I met him one day. I was working in a shop, then, just a small shop. I had no idea, then, but I was in danger that day. He took my hand, out of the blue, and just said 'Run.' He saved me, and later I saved him. He asked me to travel with him and I did. We went to all sorts of places—places most people have never been to. And one day, it all ended. We were torn apart by something neither of us could control. I can never see him again, and he can never see me again. That was a year and a half ago."

"I'm sorry," Sarah smiled warmly, putting a hand on the back of Rose's comfortingly. "Did he…?"

Rose shook her head, smiling. "He is so _very_ alive."

Sarah smiled in relief. Her face brightened up, and she had a good idea. "You know, what? I have an idea. You help me find my friends, I'll help you find him.. The order doesn't matter. What do you say?"

Rose smiled. "Yeah." She liked Sarah.

They talked for a while after that. Rose found out that they had a lot in common. What they liked, what they _were_ like. If Rose had still been with the Doctor, she would have invited Sarah with them.

Rose got off work a couple hours later after Sarah finished, at 1:00. It was only a part-time job, anyway. Sarah stuck around to wait for her new friend to help her search.

"First off," Rose started. "We can't have you walking around in those old clothes. You're going to get your first treat of London: shopping!"

Sarah grinned at her, and they went to all of Rose's favourite stores. Sarah bought a few outfits and also a cute backpack to put them all in. Rose was surprised when Sarah got cleaned up. The girl was pretty before, when she was all dirty and in torn clothes, but now she was absolutely stunning. Her brilliant blue eyes were captivating with a sort of age-old glow to them. Kind of like another pair of blue eyes she had come to know and love, that just so happened to one day completely change into brown eyes…

Sarah was now comfortable, changing her clothes to wear a pair of jeans (which she had never worn before—which Rose thought odd….they were very comfy, Sarah said, so she bought two more pairs) with a long-sleeved red shirt and jacket.

They were walking down a street, taking and showing the photograph of Sarah's friends to the locals, when…

_Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh._

Rose nearly dropped her bags as she heard the sound. That noise was recognizable anywhere. The sound of an ancient (yet futuristic) engine. He was back.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Sarah asked. "What's all that noise?"

"He's back! He's come back for me!" Rose shouted, excited. She turned back to Sarah. "That friend that I told you I lost? That's him!"

Rose took Sarah's hand and ran, following the noise down various streets until the sound was so loud it hurt her ears. Almost.

The two stopped. There it was. Tall, blue, small but oh, so very big. It had materialized, and Rose was waiting for the Doctor to exit. But he didn't.

"A…police box?" Sarah asked, confused.

Rose turned toward her. "Sarah, this guy I mentioned. He's name's the Doctor, and he's here for me. I have so much to tell you, but I'm afraid if I do it right now you'll think I'm a nutter. I want you to come with him. With him. There's so much to see out there. We'll help you find your friends, I promise."

Sarah seemed to consider it. Rose again knew she'd be a good companion. She believed Rose, even though they had just met. Most would probably scream and run tail.

It was then that they came out from the ground. Little black things, looking like giant ants. About eight of them. They looked pretty scary. Rose had never seen them before.

Perhaps they had caught a ride with the TARDIS? Maybe some sort of…tracker and they teleported here.

She looked at Sarah, ready to protect her, but Sarah looked like she wasn't afraid. Another reason. Not afraid of aliens.

"I don't get it," she heard Sarah say, looking at her left hand in confusion. "why isn't it coming?"

"What?" Rose asked.

Sarah looked startled, as if she didn't know Rose heard her. She turned toward the blonde, the same expression on her face Rose used when they found the TARDIS.

"Rose, I can't tell you right now. You'd think _I_ was insane. I know how crazy this sounds, but I've seen these creatures before and I know how to destroy them. But for some reason that item that I use to destroy them? It's not working."

Sarah looked at the creatures, holding out her arm, palm up. "Fire!" she shouted, but nothing happened. "Um…water? Thunder? Blizzard? Aero? Um…why isn't this working?"

"Close your eyes!" shouted a male voice over speakers.

She and Sarah both did that, though confused. Through her closed eyes, Rose saw a bright light, and Rose knew that they probably would have been blinded if their eyes were open.

"Okay," the male voice called, and she heard the TARDIS doors opening.

She opened her eyes…and took in the familiar sight. Converse shoes, a blue suit instead of the brown pinstripes. Dark tie. A wide boyish grin. Brown eyes. Big brown hair.

"_That_ was an Altersonic Atomic-distortion Akrilation Beam. Those creatures are composed of all dark matter, so the highly concentrated light literally burns into their atoms and takes them apart, molecule by molecule. Doesn't give them the change for their matter to regenerate. And I should talk about regenerations. Not very pleasant—"

Rose silenced him by running up to him and giving him a bone-crushing hug.

"Doctor, I've missed you," she started, tears forming in her eyes. "It's been almost two years. I never thought you'd come back."

She pulled back, expecting him grinning at her, his eyes filled with relief and joy. But they weren't. Instead, his eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, his eyes regarding her as if she was slightly crazy. "I'm sorry. And you are…?"

"Doctor," she was wondering if he was joking. If he was, he'd be getting a slap. Maybe. "It's me. It's Rose. R-Rose Tyler."

He nodded, no longer confused, and merely said, "Time Lord. I travel so much, meet so many people, sometimes it just slips the mind. You know that old age thing. Maybe I haven't even met you yet!"

"Old age?" Sarah asked. "You don't look a day over…I'd say 34."

He grinned, shaking his head. "Try 900."

Rose felt tears in her eyes. How long had it been for him? A thousand years? No, he said he was still about the same age. "Doctor," she tried again, desperation in her voice. "It's _me._ It's Rose. I travelled with you for almost two years. I was there when you regenerated into…" she indicated himself, his body. "Well, you. Why are you here, then if not for me?"

The Doctor sucked the air through his teeth. "My TARDIS got sent here, actually. We've been following these creatures around the entire universe now."

"The entire universe…" Sarah mused.

"Does that mean…are you from here?" Rose asked.

"Actually—Rose, was it?—I'm from a planet called Gallifrey. Further than—"

"—you can ever imagine," they finished in unison, and Rose sighed in frustration. If it really was him, she'd thwack him for being so cheeky. But maybe he was giving her a serious answer. "I mean—are you from this universe?"

"Yes," he stated simply, and then his eyebrows once again furrowed in confusion as something clicked with what she said. "Are you?"

Rose shook her head, half-relieved. "No. I got trapped here. Daleks and Cybermen had come from this reality to ours, and the Doctor—my Doctor—and I stopped them by creating this thing to send them into the Void…my grip had slipped and Pete—my dad from this reality—had grabbed me and transported me to this reality before I fell in. The Void was closed forever, but the Doctor said he would do everything to get back to me…" Tears filled her eyes.

"I'm sorry," the Alternate Doctor said.

"It's all right. At least he didn't forget me," she said, seriously. She smiled. "So, what were those things?"

The Doctor seemed all energy. "Made up of black dark matter. Just being around them is enough to give you the heebie-jeebies. Their one weakness is light, but they can be destroyed by other kinds of substances, only in high concentration."

"But what are they?" Rose asked.

"Err…their name is name is so hard to pronounce and so long," the Alternate Doctor told her. She grinned.

"In other words, you don't know." She grinned once more. "See, now I know you're not really the Doctor from my reality. He was a genius."

"Oi! We're you always so cheeky with him?" he teased, but their moment was soon ruined because more of those creatures stood between them and the TARDIS.

He grabbed her hand, as well as Sarah's.

"Run!" he shouted, and they did.

They ran through the streets, turning and running as fast as they could. Rose had to smile, even though they were running for their lives. 'Run!' he had said, before taking her hand as her Doctor did the first time she met him. Perhaps this reality's Doctor and _her_ Doctor were not that different. At least this one wasn't some evil, cold-blooded killer. She began to think of all of the horrible possibilities that he could've been…then again, she really didn't know him apart from the last five minutes.

They caught their breaths as they stopped in an old street. Rose looked at Sarah to make sure she was all right. Yep, that girl could sure hold her own, all right. Currently, the brunette was smoothing down her clothes, keeping a lookout on the ground and the area in front of them, the direction where they came from.

Rose was still holding the Doctor's hand, she realized. She tried to let go, but he gripped her hand more tightly, causing her to look up at him. She saw him looking back at her, his eyes searching hers as if she had just appeared out of thin air.

He gulped, looking at their intertwined fingers. "We were in a shop, weren't we?"

"What?" she asked, confused. "No, we were in an alley, by the TARDIS."

He seemed to ignore her. "They were coming toward you. Dummies that came to life…I saw you, I took your hand and I just said 'Run.' We ran…and that was in my last incarnation? But that doesn't make any sense. I regenerated almost forty years ago!" the Alternate Doctor babbled.

"You…you remember?" Rose whispered.

"'Nice to meet you, Rose Tyler,'" he mimicked a Northern accent. "Now run for your life!'"

She snapped, grabbing the lapels of his suit in hysterics. "How do you remember? Are you him? _How do you remember all this?"_

He seemed to snap out of his trance. He looked up at her, meeting her eyes. For the first time of knowing any version of the Doctor, Rose saw real fear and confusion in his eyes. "I don't know." he replied truthfully.

She let go of him, realizing just how insane she must have looked. "Sorry. It's just…"

"I know," he put a hand on her shoulder, comfortingly. "I don't—I mean, I'm not him. I haven't seen everything…just a little flash. I just know you were close."

"How—?" she asked, confused.

"I don't…I don't know. Maybe because you were around the TARDIS and the Doctor a lot, maybe it did something to your biology. I don't know. I've never seen anything like that before. And, Rose, I promise that once we get these black creatures gone that I'll do everything in my power to get you back to your reality." He promised. Rose could tell he was being sincere.

He turned to Sarah. "What are they?" he asked her, and Rose could tell it was not to ask her, but because he knew that Sarah knew what they were. He was that good.

"Heartless," was her reply. Rose was shocked. So there really _was_ more to Sarah than met the eye. Perhaps she was a companion of the Doctor's future? No, she seemed too surprised and confused at the TARDIS.

"Heartless?" the Doctor seemed confused as he frowned his eyebrows. "But that's impossible!"

"Why?" Sarah asked, curious.

"They're just Time Lord legend!" The Doctor seemed even more confused. "Just something to scare children and instil the idea that they could be heroes…"

"Doctor?" Rose was also confused.

"I'm afraid they're not, Doctor," Sarah started. "I've seen plenty of them. And not just here, either. They're on many worlds." At this she looked directly at Rose, explaining the truth, filling in the missing gaps to what she had said earlier. "My friends and I, we fight them. We travel to other worlds and fight the Heartless. We were sucked through this mirror and that's when I lost them and ended up here."

Rose nodded, absorbing this. It couldn't have been coincidence that Sarah had found Rose. Or maybe…

"You fight Heartless? But that would make you—" started the Doctor, again narrowing his eyes and furrowing his eyebrows.

"Keyblade Master." Sarah was serious. Rose thought the title a little pompous. Then again, all interplanetary titles seemed to be, lately. Emperor of the Daleks, Time Lord…

"Then why aren't you fighting them?" the Doctor asked, sceptically. "If you _are _the Keyblade Master—which I'm not admitting that there _is_ one—then you could've easily taken them out just then."

"For some reason, it's not working. I've tried to summon it, but ever since I landed here, neither my Keyblade nor my magic works," Sarah replied.

"You _do_ know that your so-called magic is nothing more than your weapons having a small Goeshawire in them that absorbs the electromagnetic waves your body and brain gives off and harness them into your weapon to create '_elemental spells_'?" the Doctor shot at her, being only half-patronizing. It was that same tone he used when he rambled about his 'stupid apes.'

"You _know_ that white tennis shoes don't exactly go with that suit of yours?" Sarah retorted, half-serious. Rose laughed at that, while the Doctor feigned hurt.

"Oi! I quite like them!" the Doctor replied, and then grinned, which Sarah returned. The tension was gone, the atmosphere lighter.

He craned his neck out toward the direction that they had come from. "I suppose they're gone. We should head back to the TARDIS and come up with something."

He stuck out his arms, which Sarah and Rose gladly took. They walked the whole way to the TARDIS without seeing anything. The Doctor unlocked it with his key, and Rose gasped when they walked inside.

It was almost exactly like _her_ Doctor's TARDIS. Except a few things were different. The railings were purple, the engine a soft shade of blue. Perhaps he had a more colourful taste of style than her Doctor, along with his blue suit.

"We might not have that much time," Sarah started. "The Heartless always mult—" her voice dragged off as she realized the interior.

Quickly, Sarah stepped back out, running around the exterior before jumping in again.

"It's—" she started, and both the Doctor and Rose mouth the words with her, giving each other a knowing look. "Bigger on the inside!"

"Really?" quipped the Doctor, grinning. "Hadn't noticed. Rose?"

"I had no idea," she retorted in the same tone. "No wonder why you got such a good deal on it."

It was almost like the way things were. Teasing, inside jokes (quite literally, too) and exchanging small looks. Still…she had to remind herself constantly that it wasn't him.

Rose removed a chain from around her neck. She handed it to the Doctor, putting the chain on his palm. He examined it, seeing a key attacked to the end of the chain. The TARDIS key. He looked at Rose in confusion.

"I think…you might want this back," Rose seemed reluctant. She didn't want to let go of that last reminder of her Doctor…but still, if she were to be traveling with this Doctor, she wanted him to trust her on his own time, not the time of an alternate version of himself.

His eyes were closed as he still held the TARDIS key. He handed it back t o Rose, who was now confused.

"I think," he started. "Something tells me you should keep it. I remember—at least, I saw—me giving it to you. And the TARDIS seems to like you. A lot."

She smiled, taking the key. He seemed all energy now.

"So, those things—if they really are Heartless—which I'm not saying that they are—they're allergic to light, right? Well, not just ordinary sunlight either, but highly concentrated light…like a…"

"Holy?" Sarah suggested.

"Yes! That's it! Only magic doesn't really exist, but if it did…yes!" He enveloped Sarah in a tight hug. "Oh, I do quite like you…what did you say your name was?"

"I didn't," Sarah replied, smiling and regarding the Doctor as if he were insane. "I'm Sarah Hunter."

"Nice to meet you, Sarah Hunter. I'm the Doctor, but you probably knew that," the Doctor grinned. "So. That Goeshawire I was telling you about? It creates what you would call magic, from about…" he sucked air through his teeth. "oh, I'd say about the 251st century, very similar to that Altersonic Atomic-distortion Beam I used earlier. By the way, Rose, who's Adam?" He cocked his head to the side, as if reprimanding a child.

Rose blushed slightly, taken aback by the question, and also slightly amused. "He sort of travelled with me and the Doctor. Just once."

"Ah, yes," the Doctor added, reminiscently, and then snapped his fingers, emitting a giggle from Rose. "Picked him up at Van-Stratton's…was he your boyfriend?"

"I dunno, not really…He just sort of, came on board."

"Good." He frowned slightly, then sprang back into action, continuing as if he had never paused in his ramble.

"Now, since we used up the energy from the Altersonic Atomic-distortion Akrilation Beam—wow, now _that_'s a mouthful...let's just call it the Triple AB? Yes, that sounds a little better—anyway, we could use some of that Goeshawire to sort of create a sort of…light beam and hook it up to the TARDIS to make a huge wave…yes!"

He bounded around the TARDIS, heading toward the console to open something filled with various wires. Sarah regarded him as if he had just escaped from the loony bin, and then met Rose's eyes, feigning fear and worry, and obviously trying to stifle a laugh. Rose smiled reassuringly, almost ready to laugh herself.

"He's like this a lot," Rose grinned. "Just nod during his ramblings and go with it."

Sarah just nodded, tight-lipped. Rose could tell that the Doctor was growing on Sarah. And if he was so similar to her Doctor, he would grow on anyone.

He emerged from the depths of the TARDIS console, a very long wire in one hand, sonic screwdriver in his mouth, which he transferred to his free hand.

"This," he continued, holding the wire, "Is Goeshawire. Enough power in this single wire to produce electricity to half the Milky Way galaxy for a good millennia. Only problem is, though, feel—" he Rose to touch the wire.

She tentatively put her finger to it. Before her skin touched the wire, a small spark emitted from the empty space between the wire and her finger, pain shooting through her nerves, tingling. The result sent Rose jumping back in shock with a yelp, and a grin from the Doctor.

"Quite sensitive to nanogynes. Imagine trying to set up a Goeshawire network in a hospital. And those are just the temporary kind. And those are just the temporary kind. Dimension travelling is permanent, because they feed off of the void stuff, as you probably know. That spark was the equivalent to a bug-zapper. Primitive things, those are. Still, I suppose it is better than the self-targeting bug laser guns they made in the 23rd century. Just hang it outside and it shoots a laser and kills a bug anywhere within 300 yards. Imagine, it started a war. Their neighbours thought they were under attack. And just imagine if you had an ant hill…anyway. Where was I?"

He grinned, his face brightening. For a moment, Rose was sure he was going to say—

"Ah, yes! Barcelona!" he kept the grin. All he was missing was the leather jacket—even the exact location was on the nail. He then frowned, puzzled. "No, that wasn't it. Oh, where was I? Oh, yes! Ant hills!"

"—Bug zappers," Sarah interjected quickly, apparently getting lost in his babble.

"—Goeshawire!" Rose corrected, sending puzzled looks from the first two before all three burst into peals of laughter.

The Doctor then proceeded. "Well," he was all serious now. "Since the Goeshawire is so powerful, all we need to do is wait for the 'Heartless—'" At this, he rolled his eyes and encased the word in airquotes, saying the word rather patronizingly, "to emerge and swarm—perhaps lure them—and blast the power from the TARDIS, pulling apart the atoms of the 'Heartless' and obliterating them."

"Please don't do that," Sarah started, grinning cheekily.

"What?" he asked, innocently but anything but.

"The airquotes. They're _so_ not cool."

They laughed, but a troubled look haunted Rose after a while. The more she thought about the plan…

"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked, pausing.

"_That's_ wrong," Rose stated, a troubled look on her face. This Doctor must have been completely different from the one she knew; more trigger-happy it seemed. "It's just seems…wrong, is all. L-like murder."

"Rose," Sarah started, ration and reason in her voice. "I've _seen_ what these things can do. They come to worlds. They steal people's hearts and eat them like food, leaving the body of the victim not quite alive and not quite dead. Just an empty shell to become a Nobody. A hostile that would kill the most innocent child to do the same to the newest victim. _That_ is murder."

"These creatures aren't alive," sided the Doctor. "They are completely dark matter, no minds at all. Heartless or not, those are just the facts. They were once people like you or me, but now they're simply…zombies. Evil creatures bent on turning everyone else into them, for someone else's bidding. You think by me killing every of those creatures out there is murder, think of the millions of lives you'd be saving. We'd be putting the dead to rest. It's a different morality. Get used to it or go home."

Rose nodded, but in her heart she didn't agree. It still seemed wrong. Still, she remembered her Doctor, the one before he regenerated, saying the exact thing. She knew that her Doctor would have done the same thing.

"All right, now, Miss Hunter, I need you over here—" he scurried around the TARDIS, pointing to a few random buttons. "Hold down this lever when I say 'go' for three seconds. Then press these two buttons: red, blue, green, red, green, in that order and then shout 'Go!' Got it?"

Sarah nodded, placing her fingers of her right hand over the buttons, murmuring the sequence as her left hand gripped the lever.

Again the Doctor hopped to another side of the TARDIS toward even more buttons.

"Now, Rose, when Sarah shouts 'Go!' you need to hold this button down until I tell you to stop. Spin this dial anticlockwise six times, rotating it until this symbol here—" at this he pointed to a Gallifrey symbol. "and then spin it clockwise to this symbol."

He once again picked up the wire, holding it in his left hand near the end, sonic screwdriver in the right.

He turned to face the girls. "You ready, then?"

Rose and Sarah nodded, the latter concentrating on memorising the sequence whilst the former watched the monitor of the alleyway outside, hanging on the wall instead of the console as she remembered it. Nothing. Just empty alleyway.

The Doctor grinned. "Let's get ready to rumble!" he imitated a boxing announcer, pointing his sonic screwdriver to a small box on the control panel.

He did this, and Rose saw the Heartless appearing from the ground, coming up out of the ground.

"Oh, my God, they're coming," she whispered, causing Sarah to look up.

"Now!" shouted the Doctor, and Sarah held down the lever as the Doctor took the wire and plugged it into a small opening that just appeared (very much like an electric socket) into the control panel.

Sarah let go of the lever, pressing the buttons in the correct order sequence, then shouted "Go!"

At this Rose pressed down the button, spinning the dial anticlockwise six times and then once more clockwise, still holding the button. She saw on the monitor a faint glow which grew brighter and brighter until the screen was a blinding white.

The Doctor grinned, giving a victorious chuckle. "Out with you lot! No more worlds for you to devour!"

As the screen was still white (as if blank, really) a faint crackling sound was heard. Followed by several more.

The Doctor's grin faded, and he became mobile, coming to the screen, standing in front of it. He ran a hand through his hair. "What? No! No! No!"

_Pop. Pop. Pop._

"Rose, let go of the button!" he shouted, and Rose immediately obeyed.

The screen started to fill up with colour once more, the bright light dissipating.

And the Heartless were _still_ there.

"Oh, you are thick!" shouted the Doctor, his back towards the to two as he watched the monitor. "You are thick! Bloody thick!"

He dug something out of his pocket, raising it up. Then in a more lower tone, he added, "Oh, you're clever. Absolutely clever."

"I thought they were thick?" Sarah remarked.

"Sarah," the Doctor said, his back still turned. "How'd you say you got here, again? To this world?"

"I…well, we were fighting this powerful mimic—powerful magic, and right before we killed it, it did this spell and created a vortex. It sucked my friends through and a few minutes later I jumped in. I woke up in this shop before they opened and they thought I broke in. And then I met Rose."

"A mirror?" he asked. "With a vortex, you say?"

"Yeah," Sarah replied.

"Oh, that _is _clever…tha—that is…" he continued staring at the screen, at the Heartless.

"What is?" Rose asked.

He turned around, 3D glasses and all.

Rose gasped. "You can't be serious…"

The Doctor nodded gravely, but Sarah was confused.

"What? What's going on? What's with the glasses?" she asked.

"I can see everything!" beamed the Doctor. "Those nanogynes…the permanent kind. They hang around you if you've travelled through the Void to other dimensions. Rose has it, I—well, I don't have it, but Sarah, you and the Heartless have it."

Sarah blinked. "I—what?"

"That mirror you travelled through? It wasn't just a 'magic spell.'"

"Doctor," Rose interjected, "What did we say about the airquotes?"

The Doctor shot her a defiant look, as if a teenager to his mother.

"The _so-called _magic spell—better?—it created this ancient—well, to my people—mirror called the Quantum Mirror that my people used to travel safely between dimensions. It was thought that the mirror was destroyed during the War. Apparently not."

He got out his sonic screwdriver, scanning Sarah (who jumped at first) and then Rose.

"That's strange," he murmured.

"What?" asked Sarah.

"It seems that you two are from the same dimension. I guess Sarah felt the pull of the like nanogynes and wound up here. Good thing, too, or you may never have been able to get home."

A pause as the two digested this new bit of information. They looked at each other, smiling.

"Seems you two have more in common than you realised," the Doctor grinned. "So, Sarah. Do you remember where the mirror was?"

"Yes, I do. It's in a shop a few blocks from here."

The Doctor nodded, then turned to Rose.

"You might want to go home first. Say goodbye to…Mickey…Pete…and your mum?" he seemed to struggle with the names.

Rose nodded slightly, giddy.

She was going to see her Doctor again.

* * *

"Mum! Dad! Mickey! I'm home!" Rose called.

The Doctor and Sarah walked through the door behind her, the Doctor keeping his distance. He had told them that he didn't want to be seen until they were ready, because he knew they would confuse him with her Doctor.

Jackie Tyler, Rose's mum, went to her, hugging her.

"Hiya, sweetheart, welcome home!" Jackie greeted Rose. Sarah followed as they walked into the living room, looking around. She had told Rose that she had never seen the inside of a house on this world yet.

"You must be one of Rose's friends," Jackie said to Sarah. "I'm Jackie, Rose's mum. Would you like some tea?"

"No, thank you, Jackie," Sarah declined politely, still getting accustomed to this new 'Mr' and 'Mrs' custom. Rose had learned that on Sarah's home world, it was impolite to call people Mr or Mrs, and instead polite to call them by their first names instead. Using their first name was saying that you wanted to be friends with them.

"Mum," Rose started. "Dad and Mickey here?"

"Oh, your father's upstairs watching Anna, and Mickey's in his room. You know those crazy hours he's got. Why?"

"Can you bring them both down? It's important."

Realisation sparked on Jackie's face. She looked at Sarah, glaring. "She ain't one of them representatives, is she? I ain't having my husband and daughter's best friend going on any more of your crazy missions so you can just high tail it—"

"Mum!" Rose cut in sharply, feeling bad for Sarah. "She doesn't work for Torchwood."

She let Jackie sigh before she continued. "It's a lot more important than that. Come on in here!" She called.

The Alternate Doctor walked rather reluctantly into the living room. Jackie stood up abruptly, walking toward him.

"PETE, MICKEY!" she called at the top of her lungs.

The Doctor put his right arm over his face. "Don't slap me!" he said, his voice an octave higher than normal.

Jackie rounded on him…and threw her arms around her arms around him, picking him up and squeezing the wind out of him.

"Oh, come here, you! You came back for her like we knew you would!" she kissed him several times on the face, despite his squirming, and his repeated "Let go of me!" It reminded Rose of the day they lost each other. The Army of Ghosts.

"Jackie—I—" the Doctor started, looking to Rose with a silent plea for help.

"What's all this, then?" the voice of Pete Tyler boomed, who was at the foot of the stairs, following Mickey. Neither one of them obviously were expecting to see Jackie hugging another man.

Jackie let go of the Alternate Doctor, grinning.

"Doctor?" Pete asked, surprised.

"Rose, what's going on?" asked Mickey. "And who's the babe?"

At that moment everyone started talking at once. Sarah, offended at Mickey and telling him off, Rose trying to explain, Mickey, trying to apologize to Sarah (all the while trying to pick her up), Anna crying, Pete yelling at the Doctor for opening the breech, Jackie yelling at Pete to stop yelling at the Doctor, the Doctor muttering under his breath about 'this is why I don't do domestic.'

"EVERYBODY WAIT A TICK!" shouted the Doctor. Everybody quieted down, and even Anna stopped crying. "Now, just wait one tiny little…tick."

He took a breath before continuing. "I'm not who you all think I am. I'm not from Rose's reality. I'm from this one."

Mickey opened his mouth to speak, but the Doctor silenced him, putting his index finger in the air.

"J-j-j…Before you start asking how I met up with Rose, it was completely coincidental—at least, for the most part. Before seeing her today, I have never met Rose. I've never travelled with Rose, and I have never met any of you. But, also before you ask, by the short contact of being around Rose, I am seeing bits and pieces of her life the with Doctor you know. That's how I know of you, Pete, Jackie, and even…" he grinned. "Rickey the Idiot. Now I've come to realize that you lot are from Rose's world except for Pete…Pete's world? I do quite like the sound of that. I've found a device capable of travelling safely to alternate dimensions, however, I would not recommend using it too often. What I'm saying is that I can take you back to your world."

"Mum," Rose started before Jackie could protest. "I've made my choice and I'm going home."

Jackie was silent.

"I can't," Mickey said. "I got me a good job here at Torchwood. I'll do better here."

"Jacks," Pete started, wrapping an arm around Jackie's shoulder comfortingly. "We can go if you want. I'll go with you and we could bring Anna—"

Jackie shook her head. "I can't raise Anna somewhere that's not her home. And you'd be leaving your home and Torchwood. But Rose…"

"I'll be fine, Mum. The Doctor—both of 'em—they'll take care of me," Rose promised, looking up at the Doctor, who nodded.

"You have my word, Jackie Tyler," the Doctor.

Jackie seemed to contemplate this, which surprised Rose. She would have thought Jackie would have done everything to stop her from going. But maybe Jackie realised Rose would never be truly happy unless she was with the Doctor. Slowly, Jackie nodded.

"Oh, Rose," she cried, hugging her daughter tightly.

---

After the tearful goodbyes and after Rose packed, they headed out.

They walked down streets, following Sarah until she finally stopped.

"This is it," Sarah said, looking up the shop.

Rose gasped. "Bad Wolf Jewellery."

She and the Doctor exchanged surprised glances. "Nah." They said in perfect unison.

"What?"

"Bad Wolf…" Rose started. "You, me and the Doctor meeting. None of this is a coincidence."

Hurriedly, Rose explained the story of Bad Wolf, at least, as much as she could remember.

As they entered the shop, Rose turned toward the Doctor. "How _did_ you get the Time Vortex out?"

The Alternate Doctor shifted uncomfortably. Why? It seemed whenever Rose asked that question to any Doctor, they suddenly got comfortable.

"I have my ways," the Doctor tried to sound cryptic, but it only came out quickly. Then, he added at the same time Sarah did, "That's the mirror."

A tall and wide mirror, a full-length one that could fit all three and then some in the reflection. The edge was covered with beautiful gold with markings on it.

The three made sure no one was around. The store was only semi-busy, keeping the clerks at the counter but no one was really shopping around them.

The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at Sarah first, buzzing her from head to toe, then doing the same to Rose. He pointed the screwdriver at the mirror, buzzing it. The mirror seemed to shimmer. He turned to them.

"You ready?" he asked them.

They nodded, and then all together touched the surface of the mirror.

And, just like the 'reality-jumper' Rose used at Torchwood, she felt as if the world beneath her had just collapsed as she fell into the void.

* * *

A/N: Hope ya'll liked that! Next chapter should be up shortly:D 


	6. IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE

I'm sorry, I really hate doing this to you guys, but:

I WILL BE TAKING THIS STORY DOWN SOON TO REVAMP IT.

IT'LL BE BIGGER, BETTER, AND MORE AWESOME.

If you want, you can subscibe/alert or whatever my author page, and that way when I post the new story it'll alert you.

So sorry!

Questions, comments, ideas, whatnot, leave a review or PM.


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